Sindh govt drags feet over appointment of fully fledged MS for LUH.

HYDERABAD -- Sindh government has been dragging its feet over the appointment of a fullyfledged medical superintendent to Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) for over two months and continues to run the largest public healthcare facility of lower Sindh under `stop gap arrangement` despite national emergency for coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, National Command Operations Centre identified Hyderabad as one of 20 hotspots for the virus in the country and earlier the district administration and Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences` vice chancellor sent communications to Sindh`s secretary of health, seeking his intervention into LUH affairs.

The deputy commissioner said in his June 15 letter that `situation in intensive care unit and high dependency unit in LUH has become pathetic and there is only nurse to look after 25 patients`.

Currently, 27 patients are admitted to ICU and HDU, according to acting MS Dr Shahid Junejo.

LUH faces shortage of nurses, technicians and doctors. According to Pakistan Medical Association Sindh president Mirza Ali Azhar, one nurse each for one patient isrequired in the ICU as per protocol but only one or two nurses look after all patients in ICU and HDU.

LUMHS vice chancellor Prof Dr Bikha Ram said in his June 16 letter to health secretary `situation in ICU and HDU is becoming worse withincreaseinnumberof patients.

We don`t have trained nursing staff and technicians in Covid-19 ward.

The acting MS concurred that LUH had only 15 nurses and almost all were juniors. `We need nurses trained in ICU management,` he said.

Doctor, journalist die of coronavirus;10 prisonersrecover LARKANA: A doctor died here the other day and a senior journalist breathed his last on Sunday in Nawabshah after having contracted coronavirus while around 10 prisoners quarantined in Mirpurkhas central jail`s isolation centre recovered from the contagion.

The doctor, 43, had been admitted to intensive care unit at Chandka...