A severe shortage of medical staff has hit government hospitals across Islamabad, with hundreds of posts still vacant, according to details presented by the Federal Ministry of Health in Parliament.
At the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the government has sanctioned 852 posts for doctors, but only 467 doctors are currently working. The hospital also has 363 vacant nursing posts out of 1,093 sanctioned positions, while 215 paramedical posts remain unfilled.
At Islamabad Polyclinic, 90 doctor posts, 45 nursing posts and 104 paramedical positions are vacant, the ministry said.
The National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) also has 17 vacant doctor posts.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute has 131 vacant doctor posts, 129 nursing posts and 163 paramedical positions.
The Federal General Hospital is short of staff, with 10 doctor and 27 nursing posts vacant.
The District Health Office also faces a shortage, with eight doctor posts and six nursing positions currently unfilled.
Also Read, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal urges flu and fever patients to avoid PIMS
Earlier, Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal had said that patients with colds, flu and fever should not come to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
According to ARY News, while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said that we want to reduce the burden of patients on PIMS Hospital; therefore, patients with colds, flu and fever should not come to PIMS Hospital.
The Federal Minister said that PIMS Hospital was established in 1984. At that time, Islamabad’s population was seven lakh, whereas today it is approaching five million.
