Hospitals deny shelters to patients' caregivers

Considering the state of public healthcare in the country, government hospitals often do not even have basic facilities available for treating patients let alone the cohort of fidgety family members accompanying them.

Unfortunately, none of the hospitals across the province have any shelter areas to accommodate the attendant's accompanying patients. With constrained finances, the hapless families, which often include people from remote areas, often have no place to spend the night. Hence, most take refuge on the sidewalks outside hospitals, where they spend the chilly nights under the open sky in great agony.

Shabana, the daughter of Khizra Bibi, a patient from Sukkur, shared her ordeal, stating that her mother's leg bone was broken in an accident at home. The local doctor, due to the complexity of the operation, referred her to the Karachi Trauma Center for treatment. Shabana arrived in Karachi three nights ago with her brother and mother, who has been admitted to the Trauma Center and is scheduled for an operation in a week. However, the hospital lacks accommodation arrangements for patients' attendants, forcing them to spend the night on the footpaths outside the hospital.

"Spending the night under the open sky in the cold weather was a painful experience," recalled Shabana, who expressed her concern about the safety and well-being of hundreds of patients from poor families who, like her, did not have access to basic necessities like sheets and blankets to shield themselves from the cold.

Ashiq Bhutto, a caregiver from interior Sindh, has been visiting Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in Karachi for the past week to tend to his ailing brother. He initially brought his brother to the hospital's outpatient department (OPD) and subsequently had him admitted. However, the scheduled operation for his brother's gallbladder has been postponed multiple times, with the new date still uncertain. Ashiq Bhutto expressed his concerns about the harsh winter conditions in Karachi.

"The lack of shelters for caregivers at the hospital, forces us to endure the cold nights under the open sky," cried Bhutto who felt that the struggles of the poor were often overlooked.

According to Ahmed Raza, trustee of a large welfare organization, the current winter season in Karachi is particularly harsh. "It is unfortunate that government hospitals lack temporary shelters or shades for patients and their caregivers travelling from interior Sindh. Many of these individuals belong to low-income households and cannot afford to rent a room, forcing them to spend the nights on hospital sidewalks," confirmed Raza.

According to the hospital administration's, shelter areas have not been constructed due to concerns that unrelated individuals may also seek to sleep in the hospitals at night, which can lead to incidents of theft of the caregivers' belongings.

Medical Superintendent (MS) of the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), Dr Khalid Bukhari, confessed that there were no permanent shelters for caregivers at the hospital. "While there are temporary awnings in certain areas, the hospital is often crowded with patients, leading to an increase in the number of caregivers as well," said Dr Bukhari.

A spokesperson for JPMC stated that the hospital administration was working to address the issues faced by patients' caregivers, and a temporary shelter had been established specifically for female caregivers.

"Our hospital is aware of the difficulties faced by the caregivers of patients and is actively working to address these issues. A spacious waiting room has been constructed within the hospital, which offers a variety of facilities for visitors," claimed Dr Tariq Sheikh, the Administrator of NICVD.

Speaking to the Express Tribune on the matter, officials from the Sindh Health Department conceded to the reports of a shortage of facilities for caregivers at government hospitals. However, they too claimed that they would address these issues in collaboration with the administration and welfare organizations.