Govt urged to restore LRH ward for leprosy patients

PESHAWAR: The Leprosy, TB, and Blindness Relief Association has demanded the restoration of the 20-bed ward at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) reserved for the treatment of leprosy patients in the province.

The leprosy ward at LRH was the only facility in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where patients from across the province received proper treatment and medicine free of cost, stated a senior surgeon Dr Arif, who is serving voluntarily as president of Leprosy, TB, and Blindness Relief Association KP.

During his visit to Peshawar Press Club, Dr Arif disclosed that after the demolition of the lone Leprosy ward at LRH a couple of years ago, patients of the chronic skin disease are suffering due to the lack of proper treatment.

Leprosy patients are now referred to the skin ward of LRH, where only four beds are reserved for patients, which is insufficient, and the majority of the patients are compelled to return to their homes, where they cannot get proper treatment and care, explained Dr Arif.

He said leprosy patients need months of proper treatment and healing, which was provided at the LRH ward, but now, the patients are not able to get admission and have to stay at their homes.

About the number of patients, he said around 100 patients come every year, and in total, there are thousands of patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially in its hilly terrain of Chitral, Swat, Dir, and Buner districts.

The Leprosy Ward was established in the 1980s with the support of MALC (Marie Adelaide Leprosy Center) headed by the late Dr Ruth Pfau, a German woman who migrated in 1961 and devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan.

The leprosy treatment ward at LRH was a ray of hope for patients who would receive proper treatment, care, and free medicine, including eyeglasses and special shoes free of cost, Dr Arif recalled.

He demanded the launch of a comprehensive programme for the treatment and control of leprosy in the province where the number of patients is in the thousands.In this connection, he added, any announcement on the occasion of World Leprosy Day to be observed on Jan 28 would be very suitable.

Until 1964, when efforts were initiated for controlling leprosy in Pakistan, around 10,000 patients were registered in the province, out of whom several have died, and the remaining are living a difficult life.The leprosy ward also played an effective role in the treatment of a large number of patients who, after recovery, are living a normal life.

Dr Arif said that there is no proper laboratory for the diagnosis testing of leprosy, and tests are being referred to TB labs.He said almost 99 percent of leprosy patients are poor, unable to afford proper treatment at their homes, and deserve official support for treatment and medicine, as was earlier provided at the Leprosy ward of LRH.

The patients used to receive special therapies and attention at the ward, which they cannot get from family members due to a lack of knowledge and stigma associated with the illness, he maintained.He requested the KP government to take notice of the plight and sufferings of leprosy patients and initiate measures for the revival of a special ward for them.