Patients in Cardiology Department of Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) are suffering badly due to the poor and costly treatment. There is an acute shortage of life saving machines and professionally trained paramedical staff at the department, which is run by Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), a brief visit to the city's highly dependable hospital revealed on Tuesday.
It is pertinent to note that around 1,500 patients from far-flung areas of Sindh province visit the hospital daily basis to avail government facility. The cardiology department lacks proper machinery and instead uses old and outdated machines. Officials said the department wrote several applications to Medical Superintendent (MS) CHK for the replacement of old machines, but to no avail.
They said: "There are only two Echo-Cardiography machines in the hospital and only one machine is working properly while the other developed a fault a few months back and is still not functioning." They said: "MS CHK requested the provincial health minister for the replacement this machine, but till date it has not been repaired or replaced.
"It is a fact that the shortage of paramedical staff is creating more problems for the cardiac patients and sometime causes delay in timely treatment." They said: "the hospital has only one angiographar, who is supposed to provide treatment to a large number of patients in a day." They said: "A patient needs at least 30 minutes for undergoing the process of angiography, and a large number of patients are asked to come on other dates.
Again the cardiac patients are also suffering badly due to costly treatment at government run hospital. Many patients from the city and all over the province visit CHK for free medical treatment, but they are forced to pay like they will do in a private hospital.
"The hospital administration takes Rs 250 from one patient for echo test and Rs 5000 for angiography," said a patient who had arrived from Badin. "The provincial government claims that it is providing free of cost medical facilities at the government hospitals, but we have paid money here", he added. He said: "the doctor referred me for echo test and asked me to pay Rs 250. "I told him that I could not pay the fees and I have come from Badin to get free medical service at CHK".
Another patient at cardiology department CHK said: "I am resident of Qasba Colony and came here for free government facility. Someone among our relatives had told me to visit CHK cardiac centre because it provides comparatively cheaper treatment." Talking to Business Recorder, Professor Dr Khalida Soomro head of the Cardiology Department, said the hospital is providing free of cost medical facility to the poor people and rejected all allegations regarding payments by patients.
She said: "with only one Echo-Cardiography machine, the department staff had conducted more than 850 echo tests last year, which is the highest in the country. There are only two Echo-Cardiography machines in the department, out of which one developed a fault a year ago and has not been repaired yet". When Khalida Soomro was asked again about free medical facilities in the hospital, she changed her statement and said that the hospital could not provide free treatment to so many patients.
"The government provides Rs 1 lakh each for 500 cardiac patient at CHK annually but more than 1,500 patients visit the cardiac centre so it is not possible to provide very patient with free medical facility." "One angioplastic patient needs from Rs 60 to Rs 80, 000 for treatment, but the hospital administration could not treat so many patients."
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