Healthcare facilities for Karachi, please?

Recently, a nine-year-old girl, Ayesha, who suffered from dengue, died due to the unavailability of a ventilator at the Civil Hospital in Karachi. She was first taken to a local hospital in Korangi, but the hospital refused to treat her because her poor father had no money. Her condition was fast deteriorating and it got even worse due to the delay in providing treatment. Her shift to the Civil Hospital, which is located in the heart of the city, was not comfortable at all and then, the minute the Civil Hospital refused to admit her, her parents lost hope and Ayesha lost her life.

This is not the only case of its kind. The point to highlight here is that there are many people who face such difficulties on a daily basis. They are left to die because of poverty, lack of attention and services, and the indifferent attitude of the management of private and government hospitals. A month ago, my father, 66, suffered from brain hemorrhage and had to go through a similar situation. He had the first attack at 1.30am and we immediately took him to the Liaquat National Hospital. Even before we could reach the emergency section, we were told that there was no ventilator available.

Then we went to the Aga Khan University Hospital which is just next door. My father’s condition was inspected there and then the hospital refused to admit him, with the excuse that there was no space in the ICU. The hospital authorities referred him to the Health Care Hospital, located near DHA Commercial Phase Extension II. He remained in the ICU for a week and then he passed away.

The unavailability of treatment services and the lack of equipment at emergency sections of public sector healthcare facilities claim lives almost every day. The situation is even worse when it comes to the handling of elders’ and minors’ emergencies.

Every day, someone’s father, son, daughter, sister or mother dies under similar circumstances and despite all the claims made, the government doesn’t pay any attention to this serious issue: poor patients are not treated well. Karachi’s hospitals are not able to meet the healthcare needs of the growing population of the city due to lack of equipment and doctors. It is about time the government allocated more resources and paid more attention to health-related issues. Preferably before more people are left to die.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2013.