GUJRAT: The Lalamusa Trauma Centre has been facing a shortage of medical equipment, machinery and medicines for the emergency patients since it became functional in May 2011.

Then district nazim of Gujrat Chaudhry Shafaat Husain had launched the project along GT Road for the provision of the treatment to the victims of road accidents.

The trauma centre is the only such facility from Rawalpindi to Lahore. The building of the 50-bed facility was completed in 2009 but it became functional in 2011 when the district government posted some doctors from the nearby basic health units and rural health centre of Kharian tehsil.

The centre gets only Rs1.45 million annually for medicines, Rs127,000 for the X-ray facility and Rs340,000 for the fuel of an ambulance and a generator. Though the hospital has an orthopedic surgeon on a contract basis but it has so far not been provided with required necessary instruments for orthopaedic surgeries.

The centre has a laboratory and it lacks the cardiac monitor, ventilators, intensive care unit (ICU), micro lab, oxygen cylinders, X- ray tables, CT scan machine and many other facilities that were included in its original master plan.

The trauma centre is yet to have a medical superintendent whereas the posts of an anesthesia specialist, neurosurgeon, lady doctor and medical specialist are still vacant.

It is learnt that the total medicine budget of 40-bed Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Lalamusa is about Rs5.8 million whereas the 50-bed Trauma Centre gets only Rs1.45 million annually for medicines.

An official of the district health department told Dawn the administration had sought the allocation of Rs7 million budget for medicines, X-ray and fuel, etc. for the centre.Dr Farooq Bangash, in-charge of the trauma centre, said around 10,000 patients had been treated in emergency of the centre in the last one year whereas the number of indoor patients was around 1,500 and some 1,200 patients had been operated upon.

Arfan Safi, a former Union Council nazim from Lalamusa city, said the locals had time and again urged the Punjab government to ensure the provision of medical equipment and machinery besides filling the vacant posts at the medical facility in the last two years but to no avail.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2014