Patients deprived of radiological services

As the government lauds its fiscal policy of reducing the trade deficit by suspending imports of non-essential items, the resultant dearth of radiological apparatus, brings the public health sector down to its knees.

Despite a majority of the hospitals in the provincial capital possessing the machinery required for the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) and X-ray scans, to cater the large influx of patients from across various regions in Punjab, the recent shortage of radiocontrast medications and radiographic film has left the radiology services nonoperational, presenting a conundrum to low-income patients, who have to seek private alternatives for the indispensable diagnostic scans.

“My wife had to undergo an expeditious MRI for a diagnosis but the hospital administration had asked us to wait for a month. We were forced to turn to a private clinic for the MRI, knowing it would cost us an arm and a leg,” resented Waheed Yousaf, a resident of Samanabad.

Like Yousaf, Waseem Mughal too, an orthopedic patient at the Mayo Hospital’s out-patient department, was told to wait 20 days to have his CAT scan performed.

“These days it requires a stroke of luck to be able to get radiological tests performed at public hospitals,” complained Mughal.

In his response to the unavailability of radiological services like the MRI, CAT and X-ray scan, the

Provincial Health Minister, Dr. Javed Akram, sympathized with the plight of low-income patients. “Due to the ban on imports, essential radiocontrast medications, are in extreme shortage. While we are receiving some help from philanthropists to purchase medications, the condition of migrant patients seeking treatment at various public facilities including Jinnah Hospital, General Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram, Mayo Hospital and Services, is indeed alarming,” revealed Dr. Akram.

Since quick and accurate diagnosis is key to the timely treatment of ailments, an inability to avail the scanning facilities meant that the large influx of patients who travelled from far-flung areas to seek medical attention at these hospitals were now finding themselves in dire straits since a delay in treatment only signalled added expenditure on accommodation and travel.

Where most patients could not access radiological services, the few lucky enough to have the tests performed were unable to get their hands on their reports given the dire shortage of radiographic film.

According to on-ground sources of The Express Tribune, the severity of the shortage of radiographic film in the radiology department was such that numerous patients and their chaperones had to resort to taking pictures of their diagnostic reports from their mobile phones in order to consult their surgeons and seek medicinal or surgical treatment.

The plight of patients is exacerbated by the fact that quite a few hospitals in Punjab have also suspended the Sehat Insaf Card facility for patients due to a paucity of funds.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on the matter, Salman Rafique, former Health Minister from the PML-N, acknowledged the unavailability of radiocontrast medicines in public hospitals, blaming the previous PTI government for the ordeal.

“The shortage of medicines was instigated during the previous government’s term. As far as the funds for Sehat Insaf Card are concerned, we have already invested Rs100 billion into the initiative and will be releasing more funds in the near future,” concluded Rafique.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2023.