Shortage of Staff at Burns Centre, CHK.

Burns Center, Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), is facing acute shortage of paramedical staff, while Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has been running without specialist doctors, putting the lives of dozens of children with burn injuries, on stake. Sources at Burns Center told the media.

Well-informed sources at Burns Center, wishing not be named said; There is an acute shortage of doctors and paramedical staff at the hospital over the past few months, due to which the routine operational work has badly affected, in Sindh’s sole treatment center for burns injuries.

Sources said; There is an acute shortage of doctors and paramedical staff during the Evening and night shifts. They said although doctors and paramedics were available in morning shift but there is an urgent need of specialist doctors and skilled staff for evening and night shift.

They said; The Burns Center administration had transferred and fired over 100 employees because of their involvement in political activities over the past six months. They informed that; Half of those employees reappointed on contract basis later, through a private recruiting company, while a significant number of posts are still lying vacant in the center.

Sources said; No specialist doctor is available in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU), putting children lives with in danger, with various kinds of burns injuries. They informed that Paeds ICU have a housing facility for ten patients at a time, but there is a need of doctors to cater to such cases.

Shortage of paramedical staff in this 70-beded Burns Center, has increased the miseries of visiting patients and also people rushing to the emergency department. Due to the shortage of staff, the burns patients have to wait for several hours before they get a dressing and medicines.

Sources further said there is no qualified pharmacist available in the center to run the Pharmacy Department.  The department is being run by non-qualified staff.  

The administration has miserably failed to fill the shortage of doctors and paramedics, despite the passage of several months and patients left to the mercy of non-qualified staff, especially in the evening and night shifts.

In-charge of Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) Burns Center - Dr Ehmer -Al-Ibran was not available to comment on this issue.