JPMC’s annual budget to be doubled next financial year: Murad

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has decided that the annual budget of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and the number of beds at the hospital will be increased in the next financial year.

Shah made the decision during a meeting with JPMC Executive Director Prof Dr Shahid Rasool at the CM House, where Dr Rasool informed the chief executive of the province that the hospital has a 2,208-bed capacity, which needs to be increased.

On this the CM told him to increase the bed capacity of the health facility, assuring him that his government will provide the necessary funds for the purpose in the next financial year.

Discussing the financial issues of the hospital, Shah decided to double the annual budget of the JPMC in the next fiscal year. He also promised to increase the medicine budget of the health facility. He directed Dr Rasool to outsource the security and janitorial services of the hospital.

Regarding the robotic surgery system installed at the JPMC, the CM urged the hospital’s head to strengthen it further and extend the facility through satellite centres in district headquarters hospitals of other districts of the province.

On the request of Dr Rasool, Shah increased the house job slots of the institute by another 100 seats. The CM also directed the JPMC administration to hold departmental promotion committee meetings for all the cadres, and promote the eligible candidates.

The provincial chief executive also approved the hiring of more professors, associate professors and assistant professors to meet the requirements of the Jinnah Sindh Medical University.

A month ago, at the inauguration of shock wave and laser lithotripsy treatment facilities at the hospital’s urology department, Dr Rasool had said: “JPMC Karachi is now a 2,200-bed facility with the addition of a new surgical building and three new wards, but it’s still being provided a budget for a 1,100-bed facility.”

He added: “At the current bed strength, the JPMC needs double its budget to fulfil the medical needs of the people of Karachi, of other cities of Sindh, and of Balochistan.”

He deplored that after the shifting of the capital from Karachi to Islamabad, the federal government did not provide adequate financial resources to the JPMC, and that it was also badly ignored following devolution, as no improvement had been made at the health facility during the past decade.

“A couple of days ago, when I approached the Sindh Finance Department, I was told that in their books the JPMC is still a 1,100-bed facility, although its bed strength has increased to 2,200. At the moment, we have staff for 1,100 beds, while over 2,200 patients are treated at this facility.”

He asked how they could provide quality treatment to such a large number of people in these circumstances. He said they not only require faculty, doctors, nurses and paramedics but also more funds for medicines, equipment and latest machinery to provide tertiary-care health facilities to the public.

“Our budget is somewhere between Rs3.5-4 billion annually, which is extremely insufficient for us. There is an immediate need to increase the JPMC’s budget to Rs8 billion to meet our needs.”