The Sindh government has decided to approach the federal government to keep the administrative control of NICVD, JPMC and NICH hospitals under the provincial set-up so that people continue to receive free-of-cost health services.
The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday.
The chief minister was told that the federation has decided to run these three hospitals under a board of governors. At this, CM Shah said it would be contrary to the Supreme Court’s judgment.
He said his government worked day and night to make these three hospitals one of the best facilities in the country.
“We have not only enhanced their budget but launched new initiatives such as cyberlife in JPMC, established satellite centers of NICVD and upgraded NICH,” CM Shah said.
At this stage, he said, shifting the administrative control to the federal government would badly affect delivery services at these hospitals
.The chief minister asked the health department to write a letter to the federation and apprise it of the situation.
“I’ll also write a letter to the prime minister with the request to sign an MoU with the provincial government to run these three hospitals,” he said.
It is to note that in a press conference on Saturday, Sindh spokesperson Murtaza Wahab said that even in these testing times, when the coronavirus is on the rise, the government is not making right decisions.
“Is this the time to take control back? Is this the time to confuse our health workers whether they will get paid by the federal government or the provincial government?” he questioned, pointing out that in the Centre’s priority should be health and forming policies for the benefit of the frontline workers.
“At the end of the day, if these hospitals don’t work, the health secretary in Islamabad won’t be affected,” Wahab said.
“It’s the residents of Sindh who will suffer.”He revealed that for the last 10 years, the expenses of all three hospitals have been borne by the Sindh government.
“People from across the country are being provided state-of-the-art health facilities free of cost here.
”A spokesperson for the federal government said it was not just Karachi hospitals, but Lahore’s Shaikh Zayed hospital was being taken over too.
The Sindh government has a right to make political statements but we can’t comment on them, the spokesperson said.
PTI leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi had said the Sindh government should join the centre in the administration of Jinnah hospital.“We should honour the decision of the Supreme Court,” he said.
Naqvi claims the Sindh government has been involved in corruption in the past.
“They have to account for the governance over the past 10 years,” he said.
