A distant dream? : Free healthcare services still absent from govt hospitals

Patients claim staff tells them to buy medicines from private stores as they are not available with them.

Even though the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has made several promises of providing free emergency healthcare services in government-run hospitals and allocated Rs1 billion to the cause, patients complain they still have to pay for treatment. 

On August 29, 2013, the health department released Rs1 billion to the province’s hospitals to ensure free emergency services are provided to visiting patients. Rs50 million each was released to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex and the rest was given to several district headquarters hospitals. Patients, however, maintain they have to purchase medicines from the market as they are not available in hospitals.

Not so healthy healthcare

Thousands of patients from across K-P, the tribal belt and even Afghanistan flock to Peshawar for treatment but they also complain about the lack of facilities and negligence of doctors.

Akbar Ali who had brought his brother to KTH told The Express Tribune that he had to purchase the prescribed medicines from a private pharmacy. “When I brought my injured brother to the emergency department, the doctors told me to buy medicines from a pharmacy as they were not available at the hospital,” claimed Ali.

“If common injections and medications are not available in such a big hospital then what exactly is the free treatment the government claims it is providing,” questioned Ali.



Riaz Khan, a resident of Pabbi, said he brought his mother to the emergency room of LRH in severe pain but no doctors were present at that time. “We’ve been purchasing expensive medicines from pharmacies outside the hospital,” he added.

“Even the X-ray machine at the hospital is not working, we were told to get the test done privately,” claimed Riaz.

Requesting anonymity, an official at LRH said the provincial government had promised free healthcare and inaugurated new wards but the shortage of doctors, nurses and Class-IV employees persists, causing numerous problems.

“Free healthcare was most definitely announced but it has not been properly implemented,” he added.

“The health minister and department have put all their energy into Sehat ka Insaf while the situation of hospitals keeps deteriorating every day. Machines worth millions of rupees remain unused for the past several years lying in storerooms,” he contended.

When contacted, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Peshawar General Secretary Younas Zaheer said the government has established complaint cells in every hospital and if patients have a grievance regarding treatment or hospital employees they can file a complaint.

“We receive multiple complaints daily and the relevant authorities are taking action,” he claimed.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2014.