Money matters: Nine years on, Badin’s thalassemia centre plagued by financial crisis
The centre is struggling to provide healthcare services to its over 500 registered patients.
HYDERABAD:
The only thalassemia centre in the lower Sindh region has been constantly under dire financial constraints ever since its inception around nine years ago. This has inevitably had an adverse effect on the quality of healthcare it offers its patients.
The 16-bed daycare Badin Thalassemia Care Center, inaugurated in June 2005, is providing health services to patients from around half-a-dozen adjoining districts. It currently has over 500 registered patients receiving free healthcare, including medicines.
Between 25 to 30 patients receive blood transfusion daily, while the outdoor patient department sees to between 25 to 40 patients, according to the centre's in charge Dr Muhammad Haroon Memon.
Since its inception, the centre has been running on special grants from the finance department. It received a sum of Rs20 million during the last fiscal year and the same amount is expected for the budget year, 2014-15.
"The grant is released quarterly in equal installments," Dr Memon told The Express Tribune. However, like several times in the past, the grant for the July-September quarter has still not been given to the center, which employs around 25 people.
The financial constraint has not only resulted in the non-payment of salaries to the 22 contract staff members for two months, the shortage of blood bags and medicines has begun to affect the quality of healthcare too.
"I have brought my son twice to the centre for blood transfusion but there is a shortage of blood bags," says Sharifan Bibi, a resident of Jhok Sharif in Thatta district. She was told that due to financial constraints, they could not arrange the blood group required for her son.
Most thalassemia patients require transfusions every two to four weeks. Many patients at the center, however, are reportedly receiving belated transfusions.
The patients treated for iron overload, which causes accumulation of iron in vital organs resulting in several critical health conditions, are also encountering delays. "I have spent Rs2,000 on transport but the medicine to reduce 'solid material' in my son's blood is not available," claimed Wali Nohrio, a resident of Tharparkar. According to him, he has been asked to revisit the center after a few days, when the drug will hopefully be available.
The center's Dr Almas Junejo said that most of these patients are given Desferal vials, which are administered via intravenous infusion pumps. She added that though the centre has managed to save some stock, it is not enough to meet the quantity of patients who require the dose.
What needs to be done
The Sindh government will have to pass a bill in the provincial assembly to give the centre the status of a government health facility. This move will also get an annual budget sanctioned to the center. Dr Memon says they have been assured time and again by MPA Dr Sikandar Mandhro, and MNA Dr Fehmida Mirza, both of whom belong to Badin, in this regard. However, no initiative has been taken so far.
The status will also regularise the services of the contract staff who have been working without an adequate salary and other allowances. A sum of between Rs2 to Rs2.5 million is annually spent on the staff's wages.
Currently, the centre cannot even afford fuel for the power generator and the ambulance which is mostly used to shift the more critical patients to Karachi. The medicines are purchased each quarter by a committee constituted by the district health department.
"The center's budget sanction and regularisation of the staff is overdue. The more we delay, the more it will affect the quality of health services we are offering in an underdeveloped semi-urban city," said Dr Memon.
According to him, the centre is the sixth in Pakistan to have a genetic laboratory, which was established in December 2013 with the help of MPA Dr Sikandar Mandhro's special grant.
The centre also has 60 registered patients suffering from sickle-cell anaemia and another 20 suffering from haemophilia.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 22nd, 2014.
The only thalassemia centre in the lower Sindh region has been constantly under dire financial constraints ever since its inception around nine years ago. This has inevitably had an adverse effect on the quality of healthcare it offers its patients.
The 16-bed daycare Badin Thalassemia Care Center, inaugurated in June 2005, is providing health services to patients from around half-a-dozen adjoining districts. It currently has over 500 registered patients receiving free healthcare, including medicines.
Between 25 to 30 patients receive blood transfusion daily, while the outdoor patient department sees to between 25 to 40 patients, according to the centre's in charge Dr Muhammad Haroon Memon.
Since its inception, the centre has been running on special grants from the finance department. It received a sum of Rs20 million during the last fiscal year and the same amount is expected for the budget year, 2014-15.
"The grant is released quarterly in equal installments," Dr Memon told The Express Tribune. However, like several times in the past, the grant for the July-September quarter has still not been given to the center, which employs around 25 people.
The financial constraint has not only resulted in the non-payment of salaries to the 22 contract staff members for two months, the shortage of blood bags and medicines has begun to affect the quality of healthcare too.
"I have brought my son twice to the centre for blood transfusion but there is a shortage of blood bags," says Sharifan Bibi, a resident of Jhok Sharif in Thatta district. She was told that due to financial constraints, they could not arrange the blood group required for her son.
Most thalassemia patients require transfusions every two to four weeks. Many patients at the center, however, are reportedly receiving belated transfusions.
The patients treated for iron overload, which causes accumulation of iron in vital organs resulting in several critical health conditions, are also encountering delays. "I have spent Rs2,000 on transport but the medicine to reduce 'solid material' in my son's blood is not available," claimed Wali Nohrio, a resident of Tharparkar. According to him, he has been asked to revisit the center after a few days, when the drug will hopefully be available.
The center's Dr Almas Junejo said that most of these patients are given Desferal vials, which are administered via intravenous infusion pumps. She added that though the centre has managed to save some stock, it is not enough to meet the quantity of patients who require the dose.
What needs to be done
The Sindh government will have to pass a bill in the provincial assembly to give the centre the status of a government health facility. This move will also get an annual budget sanctioned to the center. Dr Memon says they have been assured time and again by MPA Dr Sikandar Mandhro, and MNA Dr Fehmida Mirza, both of whom belong to Badin, in this regard. However, no initiative has been taken so far.
The status will also regularise the services of the contract staff who have been working without an adequate salary and other allowances. A sum of between Rs2 to Rs2.5 million is annually spent on the staff's wages.
Currently, the centre cannot even afford fuel for the power generator and the ambulance which is mostly used to shift the more critical patients to Karachi. The medicines are purchased each quarter by a committee constituted by the district health department.
"The center's budget sanction and regularisation of the staff is overdue. The more we delay, the more it will affect the quality of health services we are offering in an underdeveloped semi-urban city," said Dr Memon.
According to him, the centre is the sixth in Pakistan to have a genetic laboratory, which was established in December 2013 with the help of MPA Dr Sikandar Mandhro's special grant.
The centre also has 60 registered patients suffering from sickle-cell anaemia and another 20 suffering from haemophilia.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 22nd, 2014.