Patients deprived of medicinal, surgical treatment

Impetuous transfer of public hospital administrations to private enterprises has destabilised their functioning

KARACHI:

Where the large-scale exodus of nursing staff to countries abroad had already created a massive void in the healthcare system, the haphazard transfer of public hospitals to private entities has only added to the chaos plaguing the lives of hapless patients.

Despite the Sindh government allotting the supervision of thousands of basic health units (BHUs) and hospitals to the People’s Primary Health Initiative (PPHI) under a public-private partnership since the past 10 years, the inability of the joint administration to effectively manage the affairs of the medical facilities has created widespread agitation among patients who can neither find prescribed medicines nor receive the necessary surgical treatment for their ailments amidst the growing level of discord among the administration.

Khamisu, a patient who came to the Ibrahim Hydari Hospital for treatment, informed that essential medicines were unavailable for needy patients at the hospital. “Not only is there a shortage of medicines but surgeons too are not available to perform critical surgeries,” he resented.

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Agreeing with Khamisu, Khair-ul-Nisa, another patient at the Ibrahim Hydari Hospital, revealed that no specialist consultants were on-duty in the later part of the day. “Patients arriving at the hospital are not being admitted and are told instead to seek medical help at the Civil or Jinnah Hospital,” said Nisa.

However, Tariq Abbasi, the Administrator at Ibrahim Hydari Hospital, denied the allegation that the hospital was turning people away. “More than 500 patients arrive at the out-patient department (OPD) of the hospital on a daily basis,” he revealed, further adding that the administrative affairs of the Ibrahim Hydari Hospital are handled jointly by the PPHI and the Health Department of Sindh.

According to records from the provincial health department, the Sindh government has recently given charge of 34 health centres in the Malir District including the Ibrahim Hydari Hospital to the PPHI alongside assigning the department the responsibility of managing the logistics, employees and budget of the Accelerated Action Plan for Reduction of Stunting and Malnutrition (AAP).

The AAP was initiated by the health department in 2017, as a means of identifying and addressing the prevalence of stunting and malnutrition among children in Sindh. The results of the survey concluded that 800,000 children were suffering from severe malnutrition in the province. This year the Sindh government’s decision to transfer the billion-rupee, project AAP to the PPHI, and simultaneously transfer 63 of its employees to the new board, led to the mobilisation of a hunger strike in front of the Karachi Press Club by the discontented employees.

“The employees of AAP are suffering from severe mental agony following the haphazard shift in their reporting protocols,” addressed Hussain Ahmed Memon, President of the Nutrition Union Wing. However, the resentment expressed by the officials has not withheld the Sindh government from transferring more medical facilities to the PPHI, as sources reveal that the Sindh government is preparing to hand over an additional 290 government dispensaries to the PPHI.

In an attempt to seek answers for the administrative quandary facing public hospitals, The Express Tribune tried to reach the former health minister, Dr. Azra Pechuho, and the PPHI’s communication officer, Ms. Shafaq, on the telephone, however, neither of the two showed any willingness to respond.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2023.