Medical Facilities in Civil Hospital Machh in Crisis as Doctors Remain Absent, Patients Suffer

Machh: A severe crisis has emerged in the Civil Hospital Machh, the tehsil headquarters, where despite the posting of more than half a dozen male and female doctors, the full burden of OPD and emergency services is falling on paramedical staff and hospital compounders.

Sources reveal that a large number of doctors remain absent from duty, citing the poor condition of residential quarters as an excuse, while the hospital’s Medical Superintendent allegedly limits his role to monitoring CCTV cameras instead of conducting medical inspections.

Investigations have also uncovered alarming misuse of the government-mandated digital biometric attendance system, raising questions about the reliability of staff attendance records.

The hospital is facing a severe shortage of medicines, with patients receiving minimal doses, described as “like Zamzam water,” and essential facilities such as X-ray, ECG, and laboratory services have been non-functional for an extended period. In Machh, a critical geographic area where national highways and railway lines witness frequent accidents, the absence of surgeons and physicians has forced even minor trauma patients to be referred to Quetta, increasing both financial and life risks for poor patients.

Political and social circles in the region have demanded that strict action be taken against absent doctors and that child specialists, surgeons, and essential medical machinery be immediately provided so that the public can access treatment at their doorstep.