Private clinics rake profits as OPDs close

Citizens complain the fees for routine tests and consultation at private clinics have doubled

RAWALPINDI: With hospitals forced to close outpatient facilities as novel coronavirus cases mount, private clinics seem to have sniffed an opportunity to rake profits. In Rawalpindi, citizens have complained that clinics in commercial areas of the city have jacked up prices for routine consultation as patients seeking basic healthcare turn up in large numbers.

Before Covid-19 exploded in the country, the outpatient departments (OPDs) of the major government hospitals in Rawalpindi used to examine thousands of patients for no cost. For the past three months, however, coronavirus risk has prompted authorities at these hospitals to close the OPDs.

With their go-to source of basic healthcare no longer accessible, thousands in the city have turned to the hundreds of private clinics that dot various localities like Saddar Bazaar, Mall Road, Tench Bhatta and Syedpur Road.

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‘It used to be that these clinics charged Rs100 for a single consultation,” said one Rawalpindi resident. “Due to the coronavirus, they are now charging almost double in some cases,” he complained.

“A complete prescription for one patient now costs Rs500,” said another resident. “Charges for drips have been increased from Rs500 to Rs750 while an Rs50 injection now costs Rs100. The fee for checking sugar levels and blood pressure has also doubled, from around Rs100 to Rs200,” he revealed.

Not only that, but residents also complained that consultants at private clinics have been redirecting them to ‘preferred’ pharmacies for their medicinal needs.

Beyond making it extremely difficult for those not well off to obtain medical care, the private clinics also appear to be creating a coronavirus risk, citizens complained. “I had to rush my 10-month-old son to a local clinic in Saddar Bazaar,” said Rawalpindi resident Asad Ali. “But when I reached the clinic, it was packed with people with seemingly no attempts at maintaining social distancing and other precautions.”

Patients suffer as private clinics remain shut

“This makes all of us really afraid to seek medical attention when we need. What is the point if we go to a doctor only to return with Covid-19,” he added.

When contacted, health officials in Rawalpindi said they aware that people were turning to clinics in large numbers due to closure of OPDs but had no idea that consultants had raised their prices. “We have already sealed several clinics operated by quacks in the city. Now, we will take action against doctors who are charging exorbitant prices for basic healthcare,” a health department official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2020.