President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, expressed deep concerns over the rising number of viral and epidemic diseases in Karachi and the rest of Sindh and requested Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to issue directives to the Health Department to advise all hospitals to enhance the capacity of their emergency departments.

In a letter sent to CM Sindh, President KCCI said that a survey was recently conducted by KCCI, which revealed that the emergency departments of all the hospitals could not accommodate patients who are asked to wait several hours for a bed to become available for medical assistance. “Sindh Government can also confirm this by instructing the Health Department to conduct a similar survey of several hospitals in Karachi, which would help better understand the gravity of the situation.”

“It is crucial to understand that Sindh is currently facing a dire situation due to an increase in epidemic diseases. Therefore, any negligence towards this serious issue may result in losing precious lives. It is important to consider the current overloaded situation at all the hospitals as in the event of a natural calamity, the situation would aggravate to reach a disastrous level beyond anyone’s imagination”, cautioned President KCCI.

He noted that the emergency departments of all hospitals under the administration of the Sindh Government, KMC, NGOs, welfare organizations, the armed forces, and private hospitals could not accommodate more patients. This was due to a high influx of patients seeking treatment in the emergency departments, which is a result of a significant surge in Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), dengue, Zika, monkeypox, and other viral infections, along with a rise in other epidemic and complicated diseases across the entire Sindh province, including Karachi.

He hoped that Chief Minister Sindh would take notice of the serious matter and issue necessary instructions to the Health Department as soon as possible, directing all hospitals to double the capacity of their Emergency Departments.