Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday directed the federal government to submit a comprehensive report pertaining to calculation of estimated price for locally-made cardiac stents, expected to be available in the market by June 2018.

A three-member SC bench, comprising Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, was hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the sale of substandard cardiac stents at exorbitant prices.

When the hearing commenced, the chief justice said: “When will we hear the good news that Pakistani manufactured stents are being used across the country?”

Dr Murtaza, a respondent, then informed the court that locally made cardiac stents would be available in the market by July, 2018. “I am very happy to hear that Pakistani stents will be available in the market soon. Accelerate the efforts to make available the local stents,” the chief justice remarked.

To a question, Dr Murtaza said that the locally manufactured stent would be available for around Rs 15,000.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Muhammad Waqar Rana stated that at least 72 stent companies had been registered in Pakistan. He said the stents made locally were being sent to Germany for testing and certification.

“You should verify all the information you are giving to the court,” the chief justice said. He said that all the people should have access to the inexpensive and good health facilities.

He said a poor person had to borrow money for cardiac treatment. He said that taking advantage from the compulsion of a poor person was the worst exploitation, which should end.

“How we can believe that we have been given that stent for which we paid,” the chief justice asked, adding that there should be complete record of this matter. He said he was looking for some volunteers, who would visit the hospitals and report the matter.

The AAG also informed the court that stents worth Rs 70,000 each were being sold for Rs 110,000 in the market. The chief justice regretted that it was unjust to take advantage of the patient’s miseries. He said punishment to four or five people involved in unjust profiteering might improve the situation.

Waqar Rana stated the project has been undertaken by the National University of Science and Technology and a local company had manufactured the stents.

“We expect that the process of testing and certification will be completed and the stents will be available in June 2018,” the AAG said.

He further informed the court that Medical Devices Registration Regulations were also notified after the approval from the federal government on January 1, 2018 and mostly the problems under the previous rules had been removed and the procedure was simplified. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till Saturday.

A coronary stent is a tube-shaped device placed in the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart, to keep the arteries open in the treatment of coronary heart disease.

In January 2017, the chief justice had taken suo motu notice of substandard stents fraud in cardiac ward of Mayo Hospital Lahore and other hospitals of Punjab.

According to reports, the hospital staff applied substandard stents, which cost few thousands and the amount received from patients was around one hundred eighty thousand rupees.

Published in Daily Times, January 30^th 2018.