The Punjab government has decided to restore the free treatment facility for hepatitis-C positive patients, Pakistan Today has learnt. The facility was on hold until a day ago and hospitals had been refusing to provide the free PCR testing facility, injections and medicines, waiting for the up-coming budget’s approval.
A new consignment of injections/medicines, for the treatment of 15,000 hepatitis-C patients is being released within a few days under the Punjab Hepatitis Control Program, said sources. The decision was taken in the public interest at the request of public sector hospital administrations. A number of patients had been suffering due to a lack of medicines.
A spokesman for the Punjab Health Department has claimed that currently the PCR test facility is being extended in Nishtar Hospital, Civil Hospital Multan, BVH Hospital Bahawalpur, Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan, Civil Hospital Shujaabad, DHQ Hospital Hafizabad, Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi, Allied Hospital Faisalabad, Jinnah Hospital and Institute of Public Health Lahore.
“The Punjab Government is spending Rs 2,280 million from its own resources on diagnostic, treatment and control of hepatitis and 12 PCR laboratories have been set up in selected hospitals while 43 treatment centres in different hospitals have also been established to provide the state of the art facilities to the patients,” the spokesman said.
Federal government officials have claimed that about 8 to 10 percent of the country’s population was affected by different kinds of hepatitis such as A, B, C, D and E.
Organizations working for healthcare and especially for hepatitis have that claimed about 20 percent of the population was affected by hepatitis. These percentages mean that about 40 million people were affected by hepatitis.
The Punjab Health Department spokesman said that during the current year, 20,000 PCR tests were performed free-of-cost. He said that one PCR test costs around Rs 3,000, and only a highly qualified expert could conduct it. He said that government was taking all necessary measures to curb hepatitis. He said that 43 treatment centres for hepatitis have been working in different teaching as well as DHQ hospitals.
He further said that the procurement of kits and other necessary articles for 20,000 PCR and 60,000 Eliza test was underway and these kits would be provided to the above mentioned PCR laboratories/treatment centres very soon.
