KARACHI: The Sindh health minister Dr. Azra Pechuho paid a red-carpet visit to the Lyari General Hospital on complaints of non availability of essential medical services in its various departments, it's learnt.
For a long time, there was public hue and cry and a large number of complaints about non availability of diagnostic, radiology, CT scan, other facilities in Lyari General Hospital, the only major health facility for Lyariites, sources told.
More recently a welfare platform formed by Lyariites to address their area issues have brought up hospital issues to lame light once again. It's leaders and supporters including former town nazim Layari Mr. Mehmood Hashim, social activist Mr. Abdul Majid Jadgal, Bashir Ahmed Baloch, secretary general, Hamara Lyari Organisation have also raised their voices in the media as well. They have also contacted area elected public representatives too.
Due to their efforts, PTI MPA Mr. Sajjad Ali Soomro raised this issue in his call attention notice. Responding to his notice, the minister health Dr. Azra Pechuho assured him to address these issues and a visit to the hospital.
Soon after the minister health visit announcement, the hospital administration immediately started the facelift of the Lyari general hospital. When the minister health reached the hospital on Monday morning, there was a red carpet reception for her, sources told.
The minister health showed her displeasure on such cosmetic measures and tried to visit departments to actually witness the issues but failed to do so as there was a huge crowd gathered within the hospital.
Those elements responsible for the crisis in the hospital managed to fail the health minister's visit. I am witness to it that they brought a huge number of people in two buses of Shaheen Mohtarna Benazir Bhutto Medical College Lyari just to jeopardize the visit of Dr. Azra Pechuho so she could not witness the actual dilemma of the hospital, told Mr. Mehmood Hashim who himself was there to brief the minister about their miseries but failed.
The minister's health tried to go inside some wards and department but couldn't do so because of the presence of a huge number of people on entrances and corridors. Due to such a situation, Dr. Azra Pechuho left the hospital in anger without completing his scheduled visit, sources told.
Contrary to the situation on the ground, a spokesperson of the minister health issued a press release and claimed that it was a surprise visit to the hospital. The Minister visited various departments and examined ongoing projects, she told.
