Some doctors, at the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, have started fund raising. PHOTO: EXPRESS
The needy patients are not thinking about Eid celebrations. They are more concerned and worried about getting money to buy medicines and surgical equipment to improve their health.
Patients, attendants and doctors who spoke to The Express Tribune appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take immediate notice of the issue. They requested to resolve it on urgent basis for the sake of lives that were at stake just because of the unavailability of Zakat funds.
While considering difficulties and helplessness of patients, some doctors at the HFH have started funds raising.
Riffat Bibi, 32, admitted in the surgical ICU, was one of them. She needs shots of an expensive antibiotic three-times-a-day.
“After giving birth to second baby, her condition was not good. She needs this injection at least three times a day, but her husband cannot afford it,” a doctor in the Surgical ICU Unit at HFH said while talking to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.
The cost of one injection is around Rs4,700, she said.
“While considering her condition, some of the doctors and staff in the ward have raised Rs10,000 to get her injections at least for today,” she said.
The doctor said that Zakat funds have not been available since May, making it very difficult for deserving patients to continue their treatment.
“Some of the patients did not get complete treatment and just left the hospital,” she said.
Zameer Ahmed, an uncle of Hasnain, 21, who was admitted to the HFH Burn Unit, was facing difficulties in paying for costly medicines. Hasnain suffered electrical burns and was brought to the hospital on July 13 from his hometown near Jhelum.
“By profession I am a daily wage labourer and it has become impossible for me to afford his treatment cost. But at the same time I cannot see him suffering from unbearable pain just because of the unavailability of medicines,” he said.
“Mostly Zakat funds are being released on quarterly basis and it is expected that they will be released by October,” an official at the HFH Social Welfare Department (SWD) said on the condition of anonymity.
HFH Spokesperson Dr Raja Shafique Sarwar expressed ignorance about the issue and said it was better to contact SWD of the hospital.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2016.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ