Long-awaited funds for maintenance, repair of Jinnah Hospital demanded

KARACHI: The Sindh Health Department and the management of the Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) have urged the Sindh Finance Department to release long-awaited funds for the maintenance and renovation of the Jinnah hospital.

JPMC, the second largest medical facility in Pakistan and the largest in Sindh, is facing a severe shortage of funds that has persisted for the last 18 months. Despite repeated requests from the JPMC administration, the hospital has not received any of its sanctioned budget for the maintenance and renovation of the offices and residential buildings for the years 2023-24 and 2024-25. The total funds needed for the maintenance and renovation of the hospital amount to Rs265.923 million.

According to the official correspondence available with ‘The News’, former executive director Professor Shahid Rasool and Deputy Director Dr Yahya Khan Tunio of the JPMC have made multiple attempts for the release of these funds through both direct and indirect communication with the Sindh Finance Department. However, despite sending letters, reminders, and calls, no funds have been disbursed to the health facility as yet. In their correspondence, the JPMC officials warned that the lack of funds could severely affect essential services, including patient lifts, generator sets, cables, and sub-stations and added that daily maintenance of the hospital is also at risk, jeopardising the operation of the province’s largest medical facility.

On October 17, 2024, the Sindh Finance Department expressed concerns over the management of expenditure at the JPMC. However, the JPMC management, in collaboration with the health department, submitted detailed explanations along with supporting documents and bills to address the reservations raised by the finance department. Despite the ongoing communication, including multiple calls and messages sent to Finance Secretary Fayyaz Jatoi, there has been no formal response to the issue yet. A senior officer of the Sindh Finance Department on the condition of anonymity have stated that the funds requested for the maintenance and repair works by JPMC for the years 2023-24 and 2024-25 were allegedly carried out within Rs. 0.5 million by splitting the said works, reportedly to avoid bidding process.

This, the same officer argued, violates Rule 12 of the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (SPPRA) Rules 2010, as well as Section 8, Sub-Section (ii) of the Sindh Delegation of Financial Powers and Financial Control Rules 2019. The officer concluded that the Department is considering the submission of Jinnah Hospital and the Sindh Health Department, and the matter would be solve soon.

In response, a senior JPMC official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, dismissed these allegations, saying that the concerns raised by the finance department were inaccurate and beyond their authority. “A satisfactory response, including all necessary documents, had already been submitted through the Sindh Health Department. However, the funds have yet to be released,” he said.

The ongoing funding crisis at JPMC raises serious concerns about the hospital’s ability to maintain its operations, further straining the healthcare system in the province, the official concluded.