‘Hospitals running in homes in capital’

Senate panel on health notes, quacks doing operations in bedrooms

ISLAMABAD: Incompetent health practitioners are running clinics from homes in Islamabad, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said on Monday.

There is a need to revamp the primary healthcare system of the capital, Dr Mirza told a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services Regulations and Coordination.

Around 70% people in Pakistan get healthcare services from the private sector, he said adding that these 70% people lose their life’s savings to private hospitals in case of serious ailments.

SAPM on health said the public health services were in shambles.

In Islamabad, Pims and Polyclinic are understaffed, running on low budget yet faced with an overburden of patients, he said.

Senator Javed Abbasi said doctors were running private clinics in houses in the federal capital.

Senators said that quacks were doing surgeries in bedrooms converted into operation theatres. Abbasi said that this unchecked practice was causing spread of several diseases and putting the lives of people at risk who visited these clinics for treatment of various medical complications due to burden on public hospitals.

Abbasi said private hospitals in the federal capital were looting the patients in the name of unwanted laboratory tests and surgeries, but no one was here to warn and stop them from illegal and unethical doing with poor patients.

He named hospitals that charge fees in hundreds and thousands of rupees. One particular hospital’s surgery charges run into over a million rupees.

He said that the ministry of National Health Services should implement the Federal Health Authority Bill in true spirit. Senator Liaquat Tarkai said that the government should take measures to stop some famous private hospitals from misleading the patients.

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PMDC

Senator Rehman Malik said that the government should take steps to improve the standard of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). He raised question on relieving of four PMDC's council members.

Chairman Committee Senator Attique Shaikh said that the committee was vigilant and asked the Ministry of National Health Services to take steps to satisfy the country's people on availability of quality medical services.

SAPM Mirza said government was paying special focus on removing barriers in order to streamline the affairs of PMDC. He assured to look into the matter of relieving four PMDC council members.

Punishment for spurious drugs

Senator Malik proposed a punishment up to 14 years imprisonment with a fine of Rs50 million for those involved in production and sale of spurious medicines by proposing an amendment in The Drugs Act, 1976.

In a letter to the Chairman Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services and Regulations, Senator Malik stated that he has studied The Drugs Act 1976 in depth and during his services in FIA, he had experienced difficulties in taking action against the manufacturers, distributors and sellers of spurious medicines because of the lacunas in the law.

He stated that the prosecution against the criminals involved in the spurious medicines and raids and checks against them cannot be undertaken without prior sanction from the drug inspector. In his letter he has proposed that the government should make amendments in the relevant sections of The Drugs Act, 1976 with some additions.

Senator Malik proposed that FIA shall be able to undertake any checking raid on the factories reported to be manufacturing spurious medicines without getting any clearance from the drug inspector.

In the meeting Malik also proposed a Bill to further amend The Drug Act, 1976, to ensure the manufacturing of Snake Bite and Dog Bite Vaccines locally in Pakistan.

The committee discussed in detail the quantity and value in Pakistani rupees of medicines and vaccines being imported from India on a monthly basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2019.