Scene in the hospital

The now viral video of an elderly poor lady dying on floor of Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital highlighted the state of healthcare in the country. While highlighting the serious issue, the media didn’t focus on the factors responsible for the collapse of our health system. This has raised a few questions. Is it fair to suspend the MS of the hospital when the state itself has not allocated sufficient funds to invest in health infrastructure? Did the hospital have sufficient beds to accommodate the patient? Has the elected government not learned from its failure to enforce essential regulatory controls on supply of unadulterated basic food items like milk etc and pharmaceutical drugs? When was the last time any provincial or federal government built a functioning hospital for citizens anywhere in Pakistan other than ghost hospitals and dispensaries?

The institutionalised corruption and conflicts of interest of political and bureaucratic elite of Pakistan, who are involved in trade and private businesses, has made the lives of the people miserable. The country was created to function as a modern democratic welfare state. A state-owned hospital should have enough capacity to serve people in need, funds should be allocated to hospitals so that they can have a sufficient stock of life saving medicines, medical equipments etc. The money can be used for having a sufficient number of hospital beds and rooms. In this way, uninterrupted medical attention can be given to patients. This can only happen if taxes are collected from all who earn above a declared threshold and not through frequent tax amnesty schemes, which encourage the black economy and tax evasion. It is essential that qualified doctors should be amongst highest paid servants of the state, more than bureaucrats, bankers etc and subject to regulatory oversight for malpractices.

Malik Tariq Ali

Lahore