All healthcare establishments must provide their staff with personal protective equipment (PPE), stated Sindh Health Care Commission (SHCC) chairperson Nargis Ghaloo, warning that action would be taken against establishments failing to do so. The decision was taken during a meeting between Ghaloo and Sindh Health Minister Dr AzraPechuho the other day, discussing the current situation of healthcare in the province. Ghaloo revealed during the meeting that some healthcare facilities had not been providing PPE to their staff. As a result, she stated, the Sindh Health Care Commission (SHCC) was issuing a directive making it mandatory to do so. Additionally, she said the SHCC would also take immediate action against healthcare establishments threatening to downsize or cut the salaries of their staff. Nargis Ghaloo further claimed that the SHCC had directed all public and private hospitals in Sindh to keep their outpatient departments open, as well as provide first aid, emergency services and other medical treatment to patients approaching them. According to her, making treatment conditional on Covid-19 testing of patients was also unacceptable. Meanwhile, Ghaloo disclosed that SHCC acting CEO Dr Farhana Memon had also deployed teams to conduct regular inspections to ensure that hospitals were following the Sindh government’s standard operating procedures.
