Punjab and Sindh are facing a shortage and price hike of medicines in wake of the devastating floods last year, it emerged on Tuesday.
According to a report, millions of flood affectees are now falling prey to a host of water-borne diseases.
This situation has given rise to a demand of basic drugs. Subsequently, in addition to the supplies falling short, the prices have gone up sharply.
While the dearth is believed to be natural, some strongly suspect profiteering as was the case in previous such situations.
It’s not just the aforesaid issue that the healthcare sector is facing, but the conditions of the hospitals are also not promising.
According to an earlier report, lack of professionalism, unhygienic environment, incompetence, mismanagement and poor public service delivery are some of the issues that characterise our public sector institutions, including hospitals.
Lack of professionalism, an unhygienic environment, incompetence, mismanagement and poor public service delivery are some of the issues that characterise our public sector institutions, including hospitals. The case in point is the Children Hospital Larkana. A couple of days ago, I took my child to the hospital in question for his check-up. What I observed was quite disturbing.
The coronavirus SOPs prioritised by Sindh government were flagrantly violated by none other than the hospital staff and paramedics, as well as by patients and their attendees.
The magnitude of mismanagement could be measured from the fact that three doctors were attending to the patients in a single room – and that, too, without partitioning.
Many attendees accompanying their children were allowed at the same time. Some of the attendees were talking at the same time, in order to apprise the doctors about the ailments of their loved ones, creating a commotion in the consulting room.
It thus pointed to not only an unprofessional working environment, but also an open violation of patient privacy: one of the core values of the patient care system institutionalised by the health department.
Needless to say, the vast majority visiting these healthcare centres is both poverty- and inflation-stricken. Asking them to purchase prescribed medicines from their purse is nothing but callousness. Thus, these healing spots are transformed into trouble-breeding grounds.
Under such circumstances, the public make all-out efforts to opt for private medical centres, given how they run from pillar to post for every tiny procedure/treatment of their ailments, and that too from their own wallet.
