The Supreme Court on Friday sought details from all the provincial law officers regarding operational status of machineries and other equipments in the District Head Quarters hospitals by August 18, 2016.
Resuming the hearing of a Human Rights Case about alleged gross corruption in supply of Oxygen, Nitrogen Gas and theft of medicine from DHQ hospitals, a two member judge bench led by Acting Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar expressed concerns over pathetic healthcare facilities in the country.
"The state of healthcare is not only pathetic and painful but in shambles despite the fact that the people manning and managing it are under Hippocratic Oath," Acting Chief Justice remarked.
Appearing before the bench, Federation Standing Counsel Syed Nayyab Gardazi submitted report in pursuance of the court earlier directives, however, the court said that the data appears to be deficient on many counts.
"The data has also been submitted about the equipments installed in the hospitals with the relevant details showing how many of them are functional and how many of them are non-functional - The picture painted in the CMAs appears to be rosier but the grave ground realities are to the contrary," the bench said in its order.
Acting Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar observed that some of the facts and figures appear to be fudged whereas total number of ventilators available in the Polyclinic Hospital Islamabad has been shown to be 22 out of which 6 are non-functional.
He further remarked that the figure also appears to be exaggerated saying refilling of Nitrous oxide Cylinder 16200 liters is done at the rate of 22000 in Polyclinic but no authentic figure has been provided so far by the private hospitals.
The bench directed the Standing Counsel for the Federation to collect information from Medicsi, Quaid-e-Azam and Shifa International Hospitals about refilling of Nitrous Oxide Cylinder.
During the course of proceedings, one of the surgeons working in Shifa International Hospital Islamabad stated that the refilling of Nitrous Oxide cylinder was done at the rate of Rs3000 per cylinder to which the court asked him to submit documentary evidence to substantiate his claim.
Besides, appearing on behalf of the Young Doctors Association, Dr Arshad Rana and Dr Sartaj have undertaken to provide the authentic data from the above mentioned hospitals and the pharmacies.
"How the medicines having proven efficacy are eliminated to force way for prescription of more expensive and less efficacious medicines is another sordid and seamy aspect of the controversy which too cannot be over-sighted - This shows that the right to life is overarched by the right of freedom of trade which in no case is unfettered, unrestricted and unqualified if considered in terms of Article 18 of the Constitution," the court said in its order.
The bench asked from the provincial governments the state of laboratories in the hospitals in the public sector and why these laboratories are out of order and in case they are in order why their results do not conform to those of reputed laboratories established in the private sector. The bench said in its order that doctors like other professionals have a right to add to their riches but not at the cost of the ailing humanity.
During the proceedings of the matter, Dr Shaista Habibullah, representing National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicines (NIRM) submitted that the equipments in the hospital were enough to cater for the needs of the patients requiring long term management.
Appreciating the statement of Dr Sahista Habibullah that destitute are treated free of cost the bench said that the fact is indeed gladdening, but at the same time the bench raised the question as to why more than half of the equipments in the NIRM were out of order.
The court said in its order, "Dr Waqar Aftab Malik has undertaken to provide information over and above what can be beamed in from the internet as to what has been happening in the hospitals ever since their establishment with the connivance and complicity of the persons at the helm. Let him do so before the date fixed".
Later, the court asked the fixation branch to re-list the matter on August 18, 2016.