KARACHI, Dec 23: Works pertaining to the maintenance and repairs at the Civil Hospital Karachi are at a virtual standstill for the last four months allegedly due to the indifferent attitude of the Sindh government’s works and services department.

According to sources in the hospital, a number of outpatients departments and in-house patient units, including the plastic surgery and surgery units, are in shambles, while the face-lifting of different buildings and sanitation improvement works are either to be initiated or left halfway.

Despite repeated reminders and requests, the works and maintenance department had failed to take any action, said a CHK official. He said that an executive engineer of the works department posted at the hospital was transferred on the recommendation of the former provincial health minister a few months back only in view of his alleged incompetence.

It was officially stated that the failure of the works department was once again discussed at the 20th meeting of the CHK’s board of governors.

The members were told that repair and maintenance fund was dedicatedly available for the hospital, but works on priority as well as those sanctioned under the annual development programme were failing to take off or see any completion due to the non-availability of an executive engineer, who was exclusively posted at the CHK with the powers of drawing and disbursing officer (DDO).

The second in command from the works and services department, posted at CHK, an assistant engineer (AE) is not in a position to execute plan as he does not have the authority to draw and disburse the fund for any purpose. The works department is neither posting an authorised engineer nor assigning the DDO powers to the AE at the CHK and as such the workers maintenance and repair works at the hospital are hampered.

It was further learnt that posting of new executive engineer or delegation of the drawing and disbursing powers to the assistant engineer were also being delayed on the pretext that the provision of special status to the CHK in regard of fund utilisation and posting of a senior engineer exclusively at the hospital, which was approved by the former chief minister for one year had also expired and the CHK was again required to move the high-ups for a re-extension of the provision in question.

However, the BoG has reportedly requested the Sindh government to ensure an immediate posting of an executive engineer (M&R) by the works and services department or delegation of DDO powers to the AE or any other officer.

The Civil Hospital’s BoG had constituted a committee to look into the allegations of substandard maintenance and repair works having been carried out on the hospital’s premises in August last, but any relevant report was still awaited, said a source.

In the meantime, the board, through a press release, also announced that the chairman of BoG and the vice-chancellor of the Dow University of Health Sciences would discuss the situation and also evolve a code of conduct aiming at a flawless relation between the two institutions.

The BoG meeting was attended by medical superintendents of the CHK and the Lyari General Hospital, Dr Kaleem Butt and Dr Mukhtar Khawaja respectively, Ali Akbar Qureshi, Abdul Sami Khan, Saeed A. B. Mirza, Abdullah Feroze and Kauser Pervaiz.