Non-availability of prescribed free-of-cost medicines at the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Civil Hospital, Karachi, and medical treatment is causing undue harassment to patients who visit the hospital in hundreds every day. Hospital administration, instead of tackling this problem seriously, distances from the suffering humanity.
Patients queue daylong in the hope that somebody would redress their problems but at the end of the day they return dejected, without medicine. During a visit to Civil Hospital, several patients were seen remonstrating for medicine, and narrated their woes and ordeal in getting proper attention and treatment.
"I am suffering from respiratory disease and need medicine but the officials say that medicines are not available in the store, and ask to return tomorrow for alternative prescription," said a patient who had come from Thatta. He said: "The doctor had referred me to get medicine for three days but the storekeeper gave me medicine for only one day, saying that due to short supply it was not possible to go along the doctor's recommendation."
The patient alleged that the storekeepers secretly store drugs to supply on payment from poor patients, thus minting money. Another patient, Murad Bibi, narrated her story as under: "I came from Marora Goth and am standing in the queue for last two hours. I have not moved a step forward because of slow distribution process of medicines. Some people in hospital uniform were supplying medicine on payment, but I have only bus fare to reach home."
She said: "The doctor usually prescribes costly medicines, which are unaffordable for poor people, and we also can not buy those medicines, and am standing here for getting medicines since morning," she said, adding that "I would stay here whole day because I could not see my children in pain."
Another woman said: "I arrived here after covering a distance of several miles, from Hub River Road, for collecting medicines for my two children but could not get, despite standing here for whole day." She said: "It is amazing that there is shortage of medicines in government hospitals." She said: "The storekeepers told me to buy medicines from bazaar because there is shortage of medicines in the province, and submit my requisition slip as official record."
She added: "If I could buy medicine from private stores why would I come here to use government facility." When this reporter tried to contact Muhammad Asif, Store In-charge, CHK, he refused to answer any question, and forced me to leave the room. "You should come with the permission of MS OPD Captain Liaquat Ali for getting answers of yours question," he said.
MS OPD Captain Liaquat Ali said that five years ago the Sindh government had stopped taking charges from the patients for providing free-of-cost medicines, due to which many people having minor infectious diseases come here for purpose of availing free facility. He said that patients carry more than one attendant with them, who also buy ticket of Re 1 to get free medicine from the hospital. "Individually, I can not bring change in the system. There is need of collective efforts," he said.
He ruled out corruption charges in his department, but when he was provided with proof, he tried to harass this reporter. Additional Medical Superinten-dent (AMS) General, Professor Dr Shakeel Mullick, said that every locally manufactured drug is available at the store but the hospital could not afford to buy imported drugs to fulfil the requirement of the patients.
He said that some medicines are imported to Pakistan illegally and the government has imposed complete ban over sale and purchase of these drugs, but the doctors advise the patients to buy those medicines because of immediate results. He said that the administration of the hospital has strictly ordered the doctors of all concerned departments for referring patients for locally manufactured drugs because of easy access.
"The management took strict action in the past against the doctors who advised the patients to buy illegally imported medicines," he said. He said that a special team of the hospital conducted several raids at OPD to highlight the people involved but all in vain, because they were restored to their position after a few days.