SANGHAR: Sanghar citizens expressed their anguish and resentment over the handing over of only well-equipped ambulance of district headquarters civil hospital Sanghar to Rural health Centre Jam Nawaz Ali.
They termed it a politically motivated step taken purportedly at the behest of a local MNA.
One year ago the ambulance was handed over to Civil Hospital Sanghar by Oil and gas companies working in District Sanghar under their Corporate Social Responibilty obligation which has recently been given to RHC Jam Nawaz Ali. This what they called highhanded act has irked the local citizens, leading them to raise voice against it ever since.
The Sanghar citizens held a sit-in outside Sanghar Press club, chanting slogans aginst MNA Shazia Atta Mari and DC Sanghar Dr. Imran-ul-Hassan Khuwaja. The sit-in was led by social and political activist Mir Hassan Mari, Abdul Jabbar Junejo, Qasim Adil Laghari and others. They said that Sanghar Civil Hospital had already been facing severe missing Medical facilties, equipments, doctors and other staff since long.
They said the wards likes of Peads, Cardio, ortho, eye, ENT, surgical, medical and Gynie lack specialists and relevant facilties, hence the patients with complications are referred to other hospitals. Such state of affairs had earned it the name of hospital ‘Referral centre’, they said. They expressed deep regret and resentment over the handing over of the single well equipped ambulance to Rural Health Centre Jam Nawaz Ali allegedly at the behest of a local MNA. They demanded of the district health authorities to forthwith return the ambulance to Civil hospital Sanghar, else a strong protest campaign would be initiated by all the stakeholders in Sanghar city and its surroundings.
The protesters also demanded the authorities to fill up the vacancies of specialists and other staff and supply necessary equipments and improve basic infrastructure of civil hospital Sanghar. They also demanded the authorities to fulfill their commitment to set up NICVD branch in civil hospital Sanghar.
It is relevant to mention that during the lastconsectutive terms in the provincial governmmnet, neither any new scheme at civil hospital sanghar had been initiated, nor the upgradation of the faciltites had been accorded, nor long-running issue of staff shortage particularly those of specialists had been redressed. In a video message on social media, MNA Shazia Atta Mari clarified that she only demanded of the relevant health authorities to provide ambulance to taluka Jam Nawaz Ali health facility. It was provided to it by them from any other facility in the district solely at their own discretion, not upon her instruction, she said.
