SHC voices concern over 95 vacant posts of gynaecologists

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday expressed concern over 95 vacant posts of gynaecologists in government-run hospitals in the province and directed the government to take steps for starting fresh recruitment to fulfil the positions.

The court issued the directives to the health department while hearing a petition calling for the utilisation of funds for a national programme to control maternal deaths. The petitioners, including Dr Shershah Syed, said that around 5,000 women die during pregnancy in Sindh every year because of a lack of healthcare facilities in rural areas. They said there is a shortage of medical care facilities as well as trained staff to attend to the expecting mothers and handle deliveries.

According to the petitioners, the government had launched the Maternal and Newborn Child Health Programme many years ago; however, the funds allocated for the programme were never utilised. More than 1,500 fistula patients hail from the province where a majority of government hospitals do not provide fistula repair surgeries, they said, requesting that the government be held accountable for the lack of timely and adequate treatment and violation of women’s rights to life and dignity as per the constitution.

Obstetric fistula is a tear that develops between the birth canal and bladder or rectum usually during a prolonged labour or difficult delivery, and causes the uncontrolled leakage of urine or faeces or both.

The petitioners asked that the authorities be told to ensure access to affordable treatment of obstetric fistula to all women in Sindh. They said the government should ensure that at least one qualified gynaecologist in every district was trained and equipped to provide fistula repair surgery.

The court had sought a report on the number of gynaecologists available in government hospitals who are trained to perform the surgery to repair obstetric fistula. The health department submitted a report mentioning that out of 147 sanctioned posts of gynecologists in the government-run hospitals only 52 have been filled while 95 are posts vacant.

According to the report, 29 post of gynaecologists are lying vacant at Hyderabad division, 20 in Mirpurkhas division, 10 in Sukkur division, 26 in Larkana division, nine in Benazirabad division and one in Karachi division.

A division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar took notice of the 95 vacant posts and observed that it was an alarming situation as no gynaecologist had been posted in many government- run hospitals; besides, in some hospitals where more than 35 to 50 beds were available only one gynaecologist was posted.

Health department official Dr Sikandar submitted that doctors were appointed and offer letters were given to doctors, but various doctors had not joined their duties in remote areas. To a court query, he said that he did not know as to how many vacancies were still available due to the non-joining of doctors that may be sent to the Sindh Public Service Commission for advertising the posts and start fresh recruitment. The court directed provincial law officer to do the needful to fulfil the vacant posts.

Dr Syed Khalid Bukhari, a director for the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Programme, submitted a compliance report mentioning that PC-I had been moved for sanctioning the funds for the fistula repair programme, which was pending before the planning and development department.

The court directed the health department to ensure that funds are released without any further delay for establishing fistula repair centres in the government-run hospitals in Larkana, Sukkur, Nawabshah and Hyderabad. The court was informed that a fistula repair facility was available at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and a private hospital of the petitioner at the Kohi Goth hospital. The court directed the provincial law officer and the health department to submit a compliance report by January 15.