Hospital fleeces patients by charging for stretchers

Heart patient brought to emergency ward asked to pay Rs1,000 for stretcher

MULTAN: Relatives and attendants of patients are being asked to pay Rs500 to Rs1,000 for a stretcher to transfer a patient from one ward to another at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital.

According to details obtained by The Express Tribune, ward boys and female assistants of the hospital are demanding money for the stretcher service due to the administration’s negligence in various wards of the hospital.

In one such incident, Sharifan Bibi, a resident of Muzaffarabad, was brought to the emergency ward of Nishtar Hospital after she suffered a heart attack. She was transferred from the said ward to another after which doctors urged immediately moving the patient to a third ward.

Relatives of the 80-year-old patient asked a staffer to provide a stretcher or wheelchair on which the assistant demanded a Rs1,000 fee along with the identity card.

The relative protested after hearing about the fee, so the assistant barred a ward boy from providing the stretcher. In response to this situation, Sharifan’s son, Hanif, lifted his mother in his arms and shifted her to the designated ward.

A family member said that they visited the hospital's DMS office several times to file a complaint about the incident. However, they could not meet any administration officer.

According to sources, the incident took place due to the administration’s negligence. Doctors working at the medicine wards avoid complaints of the families after which lower rank employees take advantage of the situation. The family has demanded top officials take notice of the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2019.