LAHORE: Even though funds released by the government in a bid to provide better healthcare facilities are being used by the administration of all public sector hospitals of the provincial metropolis, the patients seem to be troubled owing to the lack of beds, improper sterility, unavailability of senior doctors and the rising ‘private clinics culture’.
According to Punjab Public Healthcare sources, while the government sanctions billions of rupees to facilitate the people of the province, the patients visiting public hospitals have to face a great ordeal for neither are they provided with proper treatment nor medicine relief.
Sources further told that while billions of rupees too have failed to bring people the needed relief owing to the hospital managements’ negligence, MRI machines being out of order even in the largest hospitals of Lahore including the Ganga Ram hospital, General hospital, Services hospital and Mayo hospital has become a routine.
Owing to the negligence of the hospital authorities, the machines remain inoperative for days and the doctors benefitting from the situation advise the patients to visit private laboratories in a bid to earn commissions from the MRIs that cost around 10 to 20 thousand rupees per test.
“While the government determined to facilitate the patients better, provides the hospitals with all the amenities, the commission agent doctors of the public sector hospitals spend lesser time at the public hospitals and add to their incomes by giving most of their time to the private hospitals,” they said. The sources also claimed that the doctors misuse the facilities that the government provides them with.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, the medical superintendent of the Ganga Ram hospital said that the work was underway and the operations of the MRI machine would soon be restored.
Sources told that the Punjab Public Healthcare Commission during its inspection campaign terminated the surgical services in 22 operation theatres of 15 hospitals of various districts due to hygiene issues, and served notices to 40 hospitals for providing substandard healthcare facilities. Sources also told that among the forty hospitals, 10 of them were where no proper hospital waste management systems existed. While the inspection teams of the Punjab Public Healthcare Commission served notices to hospitals across the province for the management’s ignorant attitude as well, the commission also directed these hospitals to ensure cleanliness in their respective operation theatres.
Punjab Healthcare Commission DG was tried to be contacted for a comment, but he was unavailable.
