Quality medical services can only be provided if doctors, nurses and heath technicians are given proper remuneration
LAHORE: The needless controversy generated in social media about Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s health is in bad taste. It could have been avoided if doctors who had performed the surgery, accompanied by a spokesperson for the hospital, had given a medical briefing, which is a normal practice all over the world when an elected public office-holder or popular figure undergoes a major medical treatment. Nawaz Sharif is the duly elected prime minister of the country and the Pakistani public has a right to know about his health. The dignity of the prime minister’s office demands that no controversies be allowed to circulate in such times.
In hindsight, it is about time that every government which has been in power for the past three decades should self-indict itself for failing to set up medical facilities in which the ruling elite of this country have faith and confidence to trust their lives with. The unfortunate reality is that ever since the 1980s, the quality and regulation of health services and education in Pakistan has deteriorated. Why do hospitals all over the country fail to provide services in which the ruling elite of this country have confidence? Quality medical services can only be provided if doctors, nurses and heath technicians are given proper remuneration and appointments purely on merit. Heart conditions, hepatitis, kidney infections and cancer afflict millions in this country, yet there are insufficient hospitals owned and operated by the government to provide quality medical services to those who cannot afford treatment abroad. Most of these diseases are due to substandard water and contaminated food and pharmaceutical drug items, clearly showing that the state has failed to ensure strict regulatory controls. For elected and paid public office-holders to deliver, it is essential they have no conflicts of interest and are accountable for any transgressions of official powers.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2016.
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