Medicine shortage hits hospital

One of South Punjab's largest healthcare facilities, Bahawal Victoria Hospital, is facing a shortage of medicines, leaving patients without essential free medications.

The shortage has caused distress among patients and their families, who are forced to purchase expensive medicines from private pharmacies.

The hospital's outpatient department (OPD) is also affected, with 52 essential medicines unavailable, including antibiotics, paracetamol syrup, cough syrups, and laxatives for children.

According to Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Aamir Bukhari, the shortage is due to a lack of funds. "We requested Rs1.25 billion for medicines this year, but only Rs530 million was allocated," he revealed. He explained that 60% of the budget had already been spent on purchasing oxygen and dialysis disposables, leaving no funds for free medicines.

Patients arriving from remote areas are facing hardship due to the unavailability of medicines.

Critical supplies, including insulin, psychiatric drugs, gastroenterology treatments, and skin disease medications, are missing from the OPD.

In the gynaecology department, essential supplements like calcium, multivitamins, and fever medicines for both children and adults are unavailable. Dr Bukhari also disclosed that Rs630 million from last year's medical supply payments are still pending, worsening the crisis.

The hospital, which handles over 3,500 emergency cases and 8,000 OPD patients daily, is also struggling to provide injectable medicines for indoor patients due to financial constraints.