Daily Times

The state must provide the people what they need. The needs of the people include food, safety, medicines, clean and pure water, unpolluted air, green trees, pleasant houses to live in, some hours of work, and more hours of leisure. Never ask who deserves it; remember, everyone needs it.

It is the responsibility of the state to provide basic health facilities to its people. In Pakistan, the health sector is so poor that nobody wants to go to the government hospitals except those who can’t afford private medical facility. The health services have never been the priority of any government in Pakistan. The current situation of the government hospitals is becoming worse day by day. It looks like the PTI government has no interest in the health sector at all. The betterment of the health sector was just a political stunt before the elections.

Pakistan’s health system is neither healthy or caring, nor is it even a system. The health system for the public sector is dysfunctional and is a threat to the health of Pakistani people. Poverty is a curse and it stricken public who cannot afford to pay private hospitals bill select government hospitals for their treatment but government hospitals have the miserable conditions. It highly affects lower and middle class people’s health with unhealthy and unsafe environment.

Thousands of patients go to government hospitals daily; there are not enough doctors and lack of proper equipments as well as other accessories. The OPD (outpatient department) is always crowded and people’s faces look more miserable and sick than when they arrived. In hospitals, insects roam around the wards and rooms, cats and dogs also have access. The dirt beds and bed sheets make already ill patients even worse.

The doctors can not give any proper attention and treatment to the bulk of patients. Hospitals are overcrowded; therefore it has become very difficult to facilitate the patients appropriately. Doctors do not take interest in their duty because their major focus is always to bring this crowd to their private clinics. The senior doctors visit the admitted patients once a week. This is actually the real dilemma with the system.

Most of the public sector hospitals are outdated, understaffed, with obsolete equipment.  It is horrible that two and more than two patients with different diseases sleep together on a single bed. There is no doubt that bacterial contamination is rampant and prevalent.

It looks like the PTI government has no interest in the health sector at all. The betterment of the health sector was just a political stunt before the elections

The challenges of Pakistan continue because of the economic slowdown, the devaluation of the rupee, rising inflation and constant political turmoil. One of these challenges seems to be insurmountable, and what is worse, it will soon become a disaster that exacerbates the suffering of hundreds of millions of Pakistanis. This challenge involves providing affordable, accessible and responsible medical services to every Pakistani citizen. Each city in Pakistan has government and private hospitals. Government hospitals provide free services to the poor and the rates are low for all but the conditions of those hospitals are the worst. In comparison to government hospitals, the rate for private hospitals are very high.

With the rapid increase in population and the shortage of medical facilities in public hospitals, private hospitals have always played a vital role but these private hospitals are so expensive that even the middle class cannot afford them. Although many government hospitals provide medical services to people, the services provided are insufficient in terms of quantity and quality.

People can find their way. That means that, if you are sick, which hospital do you want to go to? This is obviously private because we have lost trust in government hospitals.

Government hospitals lack good infrastructure, adequate management, dedicated staff and many other things. In a few hospitals, employees have the worst attitude. There is no timely delivery of services and often there is no staff. Moreover, senior doctors don’t bother about anything in the hospitals. Their main focus always remains around their private clinics or hospitals. The doctors always prioritise their private clinics first. Many doctors ask their patients in government hospitals to visit their private clinics for better treatment. This is really the dilemma of the medical profession in Pakistan.

If we look and analyze government hospitals in Pakistan in terms of infrastructure, material, labour and money supply, they have become the worst. PTI’s government never made health their top priority or even a priority. In the previous government, the condition of Punjab’s hospitals was much better than it is during the current government. Government hospitals have a shortage of staff. There is one staff member for almost 30 patients at once but who cares, the poor have always been exploited here. The government provides the facility of free medicines but the hospital staff which is very corrupt and dishonest is not interested in providing medicines to the poor who go to government hospitals.

In Pakistan, almost 50 percent of the population is below the poverty line. Therefore, the poor only have the option to go to government hospitals. However, these hospitals lack basic facilities and basic infrastructure, such as beds, qualified doctors, adequate medicines, insufficient staff and quality.

In Pakistan, quality medical facilities are rare or nonexistent. The space is narrow and doctors are scarce. The elevator does not work, the toilets are blocked, patients are made to wait for hours to see a doctor and more. So, it can be said clearly that the government has no intention towards the betterment of the health facilities in Pakistan.

People need to stay healthy if they have to learn, earn and live a productive and satisfying life. The regrettable condition of government hospitals is not surprising to anyone. Affordable but reliable medical care remains a fantasy for the vast majority.

The writer is a (Ph.D. Scholar, Media and Crime and author of different books on International Relations, Criminology and Gender Studies)

Published in Daily Times, February 18^th 2019.