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Civil
Hospital is recognized as one of Karachi’s
most prominent government hospitals with the provision
of health care services to several hundreds of
patients everyday. Mostly catering to lower-class
people who are largely incapable of affording
private health care facilities, the hospital aims
to provide cost-free services to the masses in
need. That being said, the manner in which Civil
Hospital is run is of common knowledge to the
public, and not in need of much description. With
government funding provided at a bare minimum,
the staffing and hygiene standards at the hospital
leave a lot to be desired. Depleted equipment
and overworked staff members are only the beginning
of the problems that prevail in the hospital.
A walk through the hallways will tell you volumes
about the conditions under which patients are
treated and the lack of attention given to the
increasingly filthy surroundings.
All hope is not lost though. This lack of provision
by the government, however, has led to the idea
of several public-private partnership endeavours.
A closer look at some of these wards will tell
you that upon realizing the futility of seeking
public funds, a few devoted doctors decided to
put their best foot forward and help their respective
wards with productive funding strategies.
The
Paediatrics Ward
One of the most noteworthy set-ups can be identified
as the Save Our Children (SOC) campaign in the
Paediatrics Department. Currently run under Professor
Iqbal Memon, Chief of Paediatric Unit II at Civil
Hospital, the NGO provides relief to the scanty
funding by the public sector. Established in 1997,
the organization was set up to help the sick and
needy children of desperate families, who came
to the hospital looking for an adequate cure to
their children’s problems. By inviting people
to donate their zakat and sadaqats for the cause,
SOC raises a substantial amount of money through
charitable means every year. Previously, most
of the funding received by the department was
allocated towards staffing and minimal equipment
provision. As a result, very little of the budget
would remain to entertain other necessities such
as cleanliness, medicine stocks, maintenance of
the machinery, and most importantly amenities
such as light and water. Acknowledging this lack
of sufficient provision, the NGO resolved to substantially
improve the poor conditions of the Paediatrics
Department.
The Gynaecology
Ward
The situation at the Gynaecology Ward is slightly
different and perhaps less fortunate. There is
no major NGO to provide extensive facilities or
to fill in any of the gaping holes left by the
government. The wards remain ill-equipped and
attaining medicines for the patients has proven
to be difficult time and time again. The staff
too remains deficient to fulfill the needs of
all the patients and yet, funds come in limited
supply. However, it would be ignorant to overlook
the small-scale efforts being made by a few dedicated
doctors, who year after year offer funds in the
form of charity money to help alleviate whatever
deficiency they can. The Patients Welfare Association
(PWA) run by Dow Medical students, also offers
to help by providing blood supply and drugs for
two patients for every ward, per day. Khadim Insaaniyat
is another institution that provides a regular
quota for much-needed medicines.
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The
Cardiology Ward
This ward is no different than any other ward in
the sense that the public funds provided are not
proportional to the funds that are needed, thus
resulting in poor conditions. Only a small portion
of it is paid for by the government, and the remainder
is provided for by philanthropists and the CARE
Society. “It is unreasonable to assume that
the government will take full responsibility of
all the patients at the hospital. In that way, many
patients won’t be able to receive treatment
at all,” says Dr Khalida Soomro, Chairperson
of the Cardiology Department at Civil Hospital.
Thus, this is another ward which harbours public-private
partnerships to provide its patients with better
care. The CARE Society aims to complement the resources
already available at CHK by providing financial
support to acquire drugs, equipment, technicians,
and fixtures for the premises.
Thus, these examples provide a good insight into
the work that is being done inside the hospital
to improve treatments and conditions. It can be
said that although a lot of work is being done,
there is still a lot that needs to be done. With
the recognition of the fact that the government
alone cannot be relied upon for full support, the
hospital is well on its way to a better future.
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