KARACHI - The Sindh High Court on Friday ordered the health department to fill required vacant posts in different hospitals across the province.

The court issued order on a report regarding unavailability of staff and medical treatment facilities at public hospitals across the province.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar was hearing a petition filed by Advocate Shahab Usto seeking direction to the provincial authorities for ensuring availability of specialised doctors, paramedical staff and treatment facilities in the public hospitals of each district of Sindh.

During Friday’s proceedings, a report was filed by secretary health regarding the availability of staff and medical facilities at the Shikarpur, Tharparkar, Sukkur and other districts headquarters hospitals.

The report stated that 79 doctors’ posts are still vacant in Shikarpur district hospital, and there are still lack of the doctors, specialists and other paramedic staff in these hospitals. The bench expressed his annoyance on poor performance of the health department and said that how the hospitals run without required facilities and specialised, how they serve to the poor people. “It is an alarming situation across the province, some major and serious steps should be taken timely,” said the court while passing its remarks.

Petitioner Advocate Shahab Usto submitted that there are lack of child specialists, lady doctors and other important posts are still lying, but the government not bother to depute or recruit qualify staffs.

The petitioner informed the court that the state of medical facilities was unsatisfactory at public hospitals across the province due to the negligence on the part of the authorities concerned.

Sindh’s children are at risk due to lapse in routine immunisation, Advocate Usto alleged that patients were dying due to the non-availability of doctors at public health facilities in the rural areas of the province as the doctors were not willing to serve outside the urban centres. He claimed that although the relevant authorities had been announcing the appointments of doctors at hospitals run by the provincial government, nothing had been practically achieved.

Citing an example, Advocate Usto informed the court that he went to Shikarpur district hospital to donate blood for the survivors of the bomb blast that targeted an Imambargah in January last year and found that only five non-specialised doctors were serving there. He claimed that over 60 deaths after the blast were caused due to the non-provision of proper and timely medical treatment to the victims at the Shikarpur district headquarters hospital alone.

The bench directed the secretary health to submit a comply report regarding recruitments and providing basic facilities at the hospitals, until May, 23.