Sindh Hospitals: A Crisis of Sanitation, Infrastructure, and Resources

A recent investigation by the Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) uncovered serious shortcomings in government hospitals across Shikarpur and Kashmore-Kandhkot districts, as per The Express Tribune. The findings included a lack of clean drinking water, poor sanitation, unreliable power supply, inadequate infrastructure, and staff shortages.

SHRC Chairman Iqbal Ahmed Detho, who headed the inspection, observed dire conditions such as insufficient toilets, insufficient seating arrangements, bed shortages, and a lack of free medicines. In the blistering heat, female patients waited on the floor due to overcrowded outpatient departments, reported The Express Tribune.

At Kandhkot's Taluka Headquarters Hospital, Detho instructed officials to expedite the hospital's relocation to a new building, urging improvements in the current facility. In Shikarpur's Taluka Hospital Lakhi, power outages left patients helplessly enduring the sweltering heat.

Detho also addressed civil society concerns across both districts, revealing various health service issues to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). His visit included the judicial lockup in Kashmore-Kandhkot, spotlighting the district's absence of a jail, leading to complications in prisoner visitation rights and trial court appearances, as reported by The Express Tribune.

(With inputs from agencies.)