PHC hears petition on dengue outbreak today

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) will hear a petition about the dengue outbreak today as a lawyer has filed a fresh application in which he stated that major hospitals in Peshawar were charging dengue patients in violation of the court order and government notification about free treatment.

“I have filed an application after receiving documents and hospital receipts from dengue patients showing that patients were charged by the Medical Teaching Institutions including Khyber Teaching Hospital and Lady Reading Hospital,” Saifullah Mohib Kakakhel told The News here Sunday.

The government had claimed a week ago that free of cost treatment was being provided to the dengue patients.

Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Saqib Raza had also informed the bench that the government was providing free treatment to the dengue patients.

On August 24, a two-member bench had also directed the government to ensure free treatment to the dengue patients.

In the application, lawyer Saifullah Mohib Kakakhel said the court should initiate contempt proceedings against the officials concerned and hospital directors for charging the dengue patients.

He pointed out that two chairmen of the Board of Governors (BoG) of the public sector hospitals were foreigners and due to their absence the hospitals were not in a position to take effective measures and quick decisions for dengue patients.

On the other hand, the provincial secretary health has also shown displeasure over lack of facilities and non-provision of free treatment to the dengue patients.

As per notification issued by the Health Department on August 26, the secretary health visited Lady Reading Hospital and expressed his displeasure for non-compliance with the government directives about establishment of “One Window Operation” for dengue patients and also free OPD chits and tests. 

It said the secretary health observed that no separate “One Window Operation” had been set up. He noted that a separate counter was established for dengue patients, but it wasn’t functional as no representative of the hospital was present there.

The notification said the secretary health had observed that only dengue NSI/IGM/IGG tests were free but patients were charged for FBC tests along with standard charges of OPD tickets.

The court has summoned hospital directors of Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex today with the direction to submit a report about diagnostic and treatment facilities at these hospitals.

The court had also directed the provincial government to provide dengue virus testing equipment to major hospitals across the province and not just confine itself to the provincial capital.

The bench had also asked the deputy commissioner of Peshawar to continue making efforts for eradication of dengue and submit reports about dengue virus in the high court on a daily basis. The government was asked to give the people and media access to information about dengue cases.