Children’s Hospital administration shuts emergency services due to non-payment of salaries

KARACHI: The administration of the Sindh Government Children’s Hospital North Nazimabad Karachi run by the Poverty Eradication Initiative (PEI) has shut down its emergency department over the non-payment of three months salaries.
Children who require emergency care are being referred to other public and private sector health facilities since the last couple of days as the PEI management has closed emergency services in protest. The doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff working in the emergency department have refused to work until the clearance of outstanding dues.
The doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff working under the Poverty Eradication Initiative have not been paid their due salaries for three months by the Sindh Government. More than 300 employees, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, and administrative staff, have been deprived of their salaries due to the ongoing financial crises.
Sources at the Children’s Hospital told that the Sindh Government had not released the last quarter of the fiscal year 2019-20, which has created a funding problem. The PEI administration has been unable to pay the salaries of the staff.
The hospital’s management has also been unable to provide medicines and surgical disposals due to the unavailability of funds. Poor patient attendants have been compelled to buy medical essentials from local medical stores due to the unavailability of such items in the hospital’s emergency department.
Sources said that the Sindh government had not released the hospital's funds, and the administration has been facing problems in continuing services in these circumstances. They informed that the Sindh government owes our budget, and if this continues, the hospital will be shut down in the coming months.
Chief Executive Director, Poverty Eradication Initiative (PEI), Dr Muhammad Toufiq, was not available to make any comments.

-MN Report