LAHORE: Who else but the Punjab chief minister, who also happens to be the provincial health minister, should be held responsible for the deaths of over a hundred poor patients administered free medicines by the Punjab Institute of Cardiology? All of these went to a government-run hospital because they could not afford to purchase medicines from the private sector. The Punjab health department is responsible for ensuring the quality of medicines provided to hospitals in the province and quite clearly the blame for this tragedy should lie squarely on its shoulders.
Instead of accepting his failure, the chief minister is trying to pass on the blame to doctors. Senior doctors have been suspended and some have been arrested, and while they are to blame as well, the buck, so to speak, stops with the province’s chief executive. Also, what is the purpose of asking the Lahore High Court to conduct a judicial inquiry into the matter? Isn’t the provincial health department’s internal system enough to ascertain where the responsibility lies?
Also, one needs to ask the chief minister that why has he kept so many provincial portfolios all to himself? Surely, one qualified PML-N MPA could be found to be given the post of health minister.
The excuse being given that the federal government is responsible for registering the drugs and issuing licences is just another way of passing the buck because even if that is the case, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the it ultimately the Punjab health departments job to ensure that the medicines given at facilities owned by the provincial government are safe for human consumption.
The Punjab chief minister should exhibit the moral courage to accept failure and responsibility for what has happened. In future, the following should be done: 1. Instead of having a civil servant as secretary, the Punjab health department should be headed by a senior professional doctor. 2. The provincial governments should set up an authority which will check the quality of medicines provided to patients throughout the province. 3. All testing laboratories should be upgraded and equipped with new technology so that all medicines can be checked before being introduced into the market.
ST Hussain
Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2012.
