Health card suspension leaves people in the lurch

Govt hospitals do not have all the facilities to cater to multiple ailments

MIANWALI:

Due to the suspension of the health card services, underprivileged citizens across the district are facing severe difficulties in obtaining medical treatment. The Punjab government has imposed a condition to conduct delivery operations only in government hospitals on health card, while all operations including delivery have been ceased in private hospitals.

However, this decision has been deemed impractical practical because the required facilities are unavailable in government hospitals.

According to a The Express Tribune survey report, there are between 1,200 and 1,500 normal or major delivery operations every month in Mianwali. There are 40 beds in DHQ Hospital, 25 beds in Sakina Hospital and three government hospitals and there are three private hospitals in all three tehsils, in which fifteen beds each are available.

There are lady doctors in 17 Rural Health Centres, but there are none in in 47 primary health centers in rural areas. Moreover, there is no operation facility or equipment, including specialist anesthetist in these facilities.

The situation in Mianwali is dire, as most doctors avoid conducting performing operations where facilities are available and their staff keep shifting incoming patients to private institutions. Private hospitals charge between Rs18k to Rs20k for normal delivery and Rs35k to Rs40k for major operations.

Citizens stated that they are worried about medical costs due to exponential inflation and the suspension of the health card. A citizen told the media that every government has tried new experiments, the initiatives of previous governments were abolished, regardless of how much welfare they provided the people.

The PTI Government of Imran Khan had closed down a very large kidney disease hospital built by the Sharif government in Lahore. Similarly, the current government has closed down a major hospital in Wazirabad in Gujarat.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2023.