Out of city attendants face tough ordeal

Due to a dearth of modern treatment facilities in interior Sindh and Balochistan, residents of the two areas often have to make their way to Karachi for medical attention but the lack of affordable accommodation facilities in the city is a hassle for family and friends accompanying the patients.

One such relative of a patient is Muhammad Faqir Khaskheli, who was laying on a footpath inside Jinnah Hospital. Khaskheli, who hails from Thatta, accompanied his brother to the public hospital for treatment along with two women of the family. “We do not have enough money to rent a hotel. All the money we had is being spent on our brother’s treatment. Therefore, we have to spend the night on the footpaths,” bemoaned Khaskheli.

Likewise, Zubaydah, who hails from Hub, also has to spend the night under Karachi’s sky due to lack of accommodation options inside the hospital and exorbitantly priced hotels outside. “I have brought my daughter here, who has a complicated disease. It is unfortunate that there are no accommodation options for the poor,” lamented Zubaydah, who further added that toilets and privacy were her biggest concerns.

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“However, I have no choice. I want my daughter to recover,” an upset Zubaydah informed.

Sumaira, who was sitting outside the National Institute of Heart Diseases and Burns Center, related to Zubaydah’s plight. “Our mother has to undergo a heart surgery therefore we brought her here from Khairpur,” she explained, “we do not even have the money to fund the surgery, which is being done through the Zakat fund, therefore, we have to make do by sleeping out in the open.”

“The government should provide some facilities for patients and their relatives coming from far flung areas in public hospitals. No one can afford to pay for medical treatment, accommodation, and food together,” she implored.

Shakeel Dehlvi, an activist who provides social services in hospitals, understands Sumaira’s situation. “The biggest problem with the families of patients visiting Karachi’s hospitals from far flung areas is that they do not have accommodation and food facilities here. Patients and their families are forced to incur costs of the medical treatment and their living in Karachi,” remarked Dehlvi.

In this regard, a spokesman for the Jinnah Hospital, informed that they were aware that accommodation was an issue for attendants of patients. “Presently we do not have any accommodation facility for attendants but in the near future accommodation will be arranged for female attendants of out of city patients,” he assured.

The Spokesman of the Department of Health and Social Welfare, also gave a similar assurance when asked about the plight of out of city attendants for patients. “The Sindh government is trying to provide more facilities for the caregivers of such patients on its own and with the support of social institutions,” the Spokesman informed while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th 2024.