Daily Times

Without question, Pakistan’s healthcare system, responsible for ensuring a healthy lifestyle for patients, is steadily plunging down the drain. Why, you ask? I recently had the misfortune of taking note of some awful incidents suffered by some of my close family friends at PIMS, Shifa, Kulsum and Mahroof International hospitals, all active in the capital city of Pakistan. It is tragic to bear witness to the heart wrenching fact that many doctors are purposefully experimenting and toying with human life when, in truth, it should be the other way around. Unfortunately, the mother of one of my friends passed away a few years ago on account of Shifa International Hospital’s incompetent and unprofessional doctors and staff members.

Although her mother managed to endure a minor stroke, her health gradually deteriorated after she was given the wrong medications and that too by medical ‘specialists’. This goes to show that our healthcare system inconspicuously gets away with thousands of such reprehensible cases. Furthermore, a class fellow of mine haphazardly unravelled the bitter truth about Mahroof, one of the leading hospitals in Islamabad. He wholeheartedly blamed the staff members for intentionally keeping patients in the hospital for a longer period of time to generate more money. How sick is that? If that is not the worst, read the next anecdote.

PIMS, a public hospital in Islamabad, had patients lying around in the corridors and no one bothered to cater to their needs. Kulsum International Hospital, on the other hand, is infamous for doctors not being punctual, especially when patients need them the most. Although I cannot speak for all the hospitals in Lahore and Karachi I do feel strongly about the health sector in Islamabad. After all, it is the capital city of Pakistan and it is an absolute shame that these hospitals are not probed at all. One of my mother’s friends was put on a life support machine in Shifa International Hospital as doctors could not do their jobs properly but, obviously, they justified their position.

This was followed by a few other cases where many other patients were put on life support machines. Is that really the answer to all diseases, disorders and mishaps? Perhaps Shifa should remove ‘international’ from its banner and simply call itself ‘Shifa Hospital’ as it blemishes humanity in every way. There was another surgery related case where a doctor scraped a piece of bone from the patient’s arm and purposefully diagnosed him with a disorder that was remotely associated with his health. In fact, the doctor had done nothing and had bluffed all the way. Sadly, the patient was made to believe that he was suffering from a disorder. Additionally, the payment procedures of privately owned hospitals are dire and ineffective as they only worsen the patient’s condition, especially those in need of serious help. Most privately owned hospitals as filthy as Shifa, Mahroof and Kulsum follow these abhorrent procedures and risk the lives of innocent civilians. It seems quite obvious that we are perpetuating brutality to its core, and it is a matter to be taken seriously.

What grosses me out the most is the fact that the economically privileged citizens of Pakistan get away with in such cases as they have the money to travel around the world and have their checkups done by internationally recognised hospitals. But what about the individuals, majority of whom are the poor, and the powerless in this regard? Clearly they have no other option but to avail local health facilities. Moreover, it is important to consider the fact that Pakistan, in terms of technology, is far behind western states and that further affects the lives of many patients. Another factor to mull over is the overall diagnosis of patients. While there are many diseases and disorders out there that may be similar to one another but, on the other hand, they are poles apart. Hence, most doctors in Pakistan oftentimes identify the wrong disorders and associate them with patients, especially the ones that are related to the field of neurology. A report published in December 2013 stated that most doctors at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad have forged degrees, a fact that hardly surprises me as this has become an epidemic in Pakistan.

Thus, I implore Pakistan’s government to come up with strict and long-term policies that advocate and safeguard the lives of millions of patients whose lives are at stake simply because of these sadistic, inhuman souls who are hell-bent on stuffing their pockets with cash. I could never have imagined hospitals being death holes for patients but it is true. Pakistan’s government has to instantaneously act on this cause as thousands of lives are at risk. These hospitals are toying with human life and that is simply unacceptable.

The writer is a freelance columnist