The AbbasiShaheed Hospital (ASH)hospital sources have ascribed the worsening condition of healthcare at the facility to limited funds from the KMC and the Sindh government. They saythat they are somehow managing to sustain on limited funds released by the KMC and donations, adding that the hospital, housing over 900 beds, didn’t even received 20 percent of the budget allocated to it. It is pertinent to mention that ASH is the one of city’s largest public hospitals but has been struggling in the face of an acute shortage of funds and staff. According to sources at ASH, the hospital, run under the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), is unable to keep up with the persistent lack of funds and seamlessly cater to patients, particularly indoor patients and those visiting the outpatient department. In fact, it is struggling to keep running amid the shortage of medical staff and life-saving drugs, unavailability of diagnostic facilities, a lack of resources to provide food to patients, non-functional wards, insufficient water supply, out of order equipment and numerous other challenges, the sources revealed. Consequently, the hospital has witnessed a decline in patient footfall. Further aggravating the situation are vacant posts at the facility, including those of medical officers, consultants, nurses, sweepers, security guards, technicians, paramedics and other administrative staff. Meanwhile, important diagnostic equipment, approximately 40 per cent of what is owned by the facility, has worn out after years of use and is in dire need of replacement.
