Hepatitis patients left high and dry

The government has endangered the lives of thousands of people in the city by depriving them of treatment for Hepatitis-C at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Polyclinic, through the National Hepatitis Control Programme’s Islamabad Component.
Health experts have said that around 150,000 new cases of the disease are registered every year, and Islamabad is among the highest prevalence regions in the country.
The PIMS and Polyclinic, two major public sector hospitals, have been running short of the Hepatitis-C vaccination, as the National Hepatitis Control Programme has stopped supplying it due to a paucity of funds. Several patients have been turned away due to the lack of vaccination. A PIMS official seeking anonymity told Pakistan Today that they had had to discontinue the treatment of over a 100 patients due to lack of funds, and that had proved disastrous for patients who could not afford to complete the treatment on their own. She said they had referred many poor patients to the Polyclinic, but the hospital was short of medicines as well and had turned the patients away. “We advise patients to purchase medicines themselves or contact the ‘Bait-ul-Maal’ for free treatment, as discontinuing the treatment process could prove fatal to their health,” she said. She added that the PIMS’ Liver Centre had informed the administration about the dire situation, the administration had responded saying they did not have a budget for the expensive treatment.
The official said the hospital received 6-10 patients on a daily basis, who required vaccination at the PIMS Liver Centre OPD. The Polyclinic has had similar problems as it has stopped providing treatment to new patients and is handling the treatment of 152 patients on its own budget. Polyclinic Spokesman Dr Sharif Astori said, “Around 10-15 Hepatitis-C patients visit the Polyclinic on a daily basis, we have not been able to provide them treatment of late, as the National Hepatitis Control Programme (ICT Component) has stopped providing us with free vaccination for needy patients.” World Health Organisation (WHO) National Programme Manager for Hepatitis/HIV Dr Quaid Saeed told Pakistan Today that the situation had become alarming as Islamabad was in the Hepatitis-C high prevalence zone. He said the WHO had told the government in 2005 to focus on the prevention of the disease, but the government had utilised most of the budget on treatment and that had led to a steady rise in the number of patients suffering from the disease. Khurram Shehzad, a 26 year old resident of Bhara Kahu, stood depressed outside the Liver Centre OPD where doctors had refused to provide free medicine to him and had asked him to purchase them at the Bait-ul-maal. “I graduated in Telecommunication and have only recently obtained a job where I earn Rs 15,000 a month. I have to support my parents on this measly income, and now the doctors have told me I have to bear the expenses of this costly treatment myself,” he deplored. A National Hepatitis Control Programme official said, “Many people have been deprived of this facility and we have requested the government to release funds to run the programme, but they haven’t responded.” He said after the devolution, the government had not paid attention to health problems in the federal capital, and citizens had been deprived of free treatment of Hepatitis B and C. “Around 20-25 percent of the total hepatitis control programme budget had been set aside for Islamabad, but after the devolution the city had been deprived of the facility,” he said.