SC annoyed with poor service at public hospitals

Suo moto notice

Summons report on disposal of life-saving drugs

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday expressed grave concern over the rapid increase in the prices of life saving drugs and observed that most of the poor people who visited hospitals in the public sector were not provided life saving drugs.

The court sought law officers of the four provinces as well as Islamabad to submit a comprehensive report pertaining to the operational status of laboratories and medical equipment in the District Headquarters Hospitals.

A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Justice Tariq Pervez heard the suo moto case pertaining to corruption in the Polyclinic Hospital.

“We would direct the law officer to provide us data, on behalf of Federation, about price of refilling the oxygen and nitrogen from 2013 up to date and its varying prices in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and private hospitals,” the court ruled in its order.

The court also directed the authorities as to how life saving drugs were dealt with for patients, directing them to collect the data on this count at least in the capital and submit report.

The court also directed Dr Sartaj, on behalf of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) to submit more details about his arguments. Allegations are regarding bribery in hiring of young doctors and house officers. The court directed the advocate generals of all the provinces to collect details from respective chief executives of hospitals as to the status of labs, equipment and information about their functioning order and submit a report.

The court also directed the law officers to provide data pertaining to life saving drugs in the district headquarters hospitals as well.

During the course of hearing, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan observed that in most of the public sector hospitals, medical equipment like X-ray machines, ultra sound, CT Scan, etc, remained out of order. He further observed that medicines were not provided to the people, visiting the public sector hospitals, adding that prices of life saving drugs had increased manifold.

Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan remarked that although the doctor community served the humanity but they had also become money making machines. He further observed when patients reached Tehsil hospitals, often the doctors there sent them to the District Headquarters Hospitals without diagnosing the disease.

During the course of hearing, a representative of the Pakistan Medical Association informed the bench that refilling price of oxygen and nitrogen in gas kits was Rs27,000 in the Polyclinic while same was Rs7,500 in PIMS adding private hospital’s fee was Rs3,000. He added that government had violated the PPRA rules. “It was surprising for us that contract for filing oxygen and nitrogen gas in the kits was approved for three years,” the PMA representative said.

The court while expressing grave concern over the prevailing situation in the public sector hospitals sought complete details regarding prices of oxygen cylinders, purchased by the public sector hospitals in Islamabad for the last three years. The court observed that due to dysfunction of medical equipments in the public sector hospitals, poor patients were forced to get their medical test conducted from private laboratories that charge thousands or rupees.

He further said that in our country it is difficult for a poor person to get cured even for flu and fever, adding that medicines were not available at the pharmacies of public hospitals

Justice Tariq Pervez, another member of the bench observed that when private practice of the doctors was abolished in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, most of the senior doctors of public sector hospitals had resigned.

He said that doctors have no concern for the miseries of people but practice was dearer to them

The court directed the advocate generals of the four provinces as well as law officers of the federal capital to submit a comprehensive report pertaining to the functional status of laboratories equipment in their respective district hospitals besides directing to submit a detailed report regarding the volume of provision of life saving drugs to the public sector hospitals and adjourned the hearing until August 12.

During the hearing, Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi, counsel for Dr Iftikhar Ahmed Naru, Executive Director Polyclinic, submitted that his client was not the Executive Director of the hospital when the issue erupted He said that all the appeals filed in the instant matter were motivated against his client.

The chief justice had taken suo moto notice on the application of Dr Umar Lodhi sent to the Human Rights Cell of the Supreme Court.

He informed that Executive Director of Polyclinic hospital Dr Iftikhar Ahmed Naru and his wife were partners in a company called Crescent Traders — an equipment supplier that the hospital has been using for the last five years.

According to the applicant, the hospital management was also involved in misappropriation of medicines and oxygen gas kits. The applicant had contended that Dr Naru is a government servant and is doing business with the hospital by illegally awarding supply contracts to his own company.

He had further stated that the firm was also contracted to repair and maintain cooling equipment in the hospital.

The applicant had requested the chief justice to order an inquiry into the issue and audit medicinal supply procurement for the last five years.