Looking for a cure: Over 75% of epileptic patients have no access to healthcare
Neurologists and health experts gathered together at an awareness session on epilepsy at the Arena on Saturday
DESIGN: OMER ASIM
KARACHI:
No more than a quarter of epileptic patients in Pakistan have access to health facilities and medicine, leaving over 150,000 people with no relief from the neurological disorder.
Neurologists and health experts gathered together at an awareness session on epilepsy at the Arena on Saturday, where a medical DVD about epilepsy was also launched. The session was organised by the Pakistan Society of Neurology in collaboration with the Neurology Awareness and Research Foundation.
"Epilepsy is curable in almost 70 per cent of patients but unfortunately, over three-quarters of patients in Pakistan have no access to treatment," revealed Dr Fowzia Siddiqui, a neurologist associated with the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).
Dr Siddiqui, who has also taught neurology at the Johns Hopkins University in United States, said that hundreds of people visit the neurology outpatient departments in Pakistan's public hospitals in search for a cure but the majority of doctors are not trained to handle the various forms of epilepsy.
Prof Dr Muhammad Wasay Shakir, another neurologist associated with AKUH and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, agreed with Dr Siddiqui, saying that the lack of awareness among doctors regarding the types of epilepsy meant that patients usually could not benefit from the treatment they received.
"As a result, they approach quacks and faith-healers, whose practices often complicate the disease and worsen it for both the patients and their families," he explained.
"Another reason for the reliance on faith-healers is the fact that epilepsy is considered a taboo and untreatable disease in our society," said Dr Shakir.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2015.
No more than a quarter of epileptic patients in Pakistan have access to health facilities and medicine, leaving over 150,000 people with no relief from the neurological disorder.
Neurologists and health experts gathered together at an awareness session on epilepsy at the Arena on Saturday, where a medical DVD about epilepsy was also launched. The session was organised by the Pakistan Society of Neurology in collaboration with the Neurology Awareness and Research Foundation.
"Epilepsy is curable in almost 70 per cent of patients but unfortunately, over three-quarters of patients in Pakistan have no access to treatment," revealed Dr Fowzia Siddiqui, a neurologist associated with the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).
Dr Siddiqui, who has also taught neurology at the Johns Hopkins University in United States, said that hundreds of people visit the neurology outpatient departments in Pakistan's public hospitals in search for a cure but the majority of doctors are not trained to handle the various forms of epilepsy.
Prof Dr Muhammad Wasay Shakir, another neurologist associated with AKUH and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, agreed with Dr Siddiqui, saying that the lack of awareness among doctors regarding the types of epilepsy meant that patients usually could not benefit from the treatment they received.
"As a result, they approach quacks and faith-healers, whose practices often complicate the disease and worsen it for both the patients and their families," he explained.
"Another reason for the reliance on faith-healers is the fact that epilepsy is considered a taboo and untreatable disease in our society," said Dr Shakir.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2015.