'All police personnel being provided health care without discrimination'

"Sindh Police provides medical facilities to all police personnel, without any discrimination of rank," Ali Shair Jakhrani, AIG Welfare, Sindh Police told this scribe here on Wednesday. From 1982, more than 1,800 jawans had been martyred, and there had been more than 5,000 cases of minor and severe injuries.
He said that every single martyr from those 1,800 had been provided financial grant, whereas the injured were treated accordingly, as per the doctors' prescriptions without any discrimination. About a query of mistrust of police individuals on the department, Jakhrani said that either they are of negative mind personnel or are unaware of facilities he can use. That could be his or his immediate officer's mistake. The department has made a printout of the facilities personnel has rightfully to get, and pasted in every police office to make every personnel aware of his rights.
He said that hospitals like Aga Khan, PNS Shifa and NICVD are now on Police panel, and the department shifts any personnel there without any discrimination of rank, if he/she needs any specific treatment. Earlier, Dr Roshan Ali Bhatti, Medical Superintendent of Police Hospital explained to this scribe the facilities available in the hospital. Facilities like radiology, laboratory, central sterilisation, operation theatre with modern facilities, local and general anaesthesia, urology, ultrasound, digital x-ray, etc, are now available in the hospital.
The hospital also has five ambulances with ventilator facility. Doctors like Dr Azeem Almani, Dr Khalid Mehmood Somroo, Dr Aanullah, Dr Yonis Somroo and Dr Shoaib Niaz conduct OPD thrice a week here, whereas gynaecology and paediatrics departments have started working. Pharmacy has enough medicines to help 90 percent of patients there. About 40,000 police individuals are posted only in Karachi, whereas they have about 250,000 individuals as their family members.
No doubt, a single hospital for that big number of people is not sufficient, and there must be more. A summary has been sent to Home Department that if no dispensaries have been set all around the city then at least a first-aid room, with a qualified doctor or at least dispenser, should be set up in every police station throughout Sindh. Constable Zahiruddin, posted in Thatta PS Sajawal got injured during a snap checking. A truck hit him severely on the head which led him to partial coma.
His companions shifted him to Civil Hospital, Thatta. Masna, sister of Zahiruddin, while not satisfied with the treatment being provided by the Civil Hospital, decided to shift him to Karachi. She brought him to JPMC but after spending almost Rs 30,000 and no proper treatment, she got annoyed and call IGP Sindh, Fayaz Laghari, for help. Amazingly, no one knew about Zahiruddin and his worst incident in the police department till she called. When asked, Jakharani explained that it could only be explained by DPO Thatta why he did not inform the authorities here and why he did not provided any facility to the family of Zahiruddin.