By Rafiullah Mandokhail;
ZHOB: The District Headquarters civil hospital that caters to the needs of half million population lacks life saving drugs for the last few weeks. The non-availability of the other medicines in general but life saving drugs in particular has added the miseries of both in-door and out-door patients and the patients are running from pillar to post. The attendants of the patients who come from far-flung areas of the district are forced to purchase medicines including anti-rabies and anti-snake-bite vaccines from the market.
The medicines which have the potential to sustain life or prevent further complications called life-saving drugs. The drugs usually used in emergency department (casualty), intensive care unit (ICU) and operation theater (OT) in a condition when multiple systems of the human body stop functioning properly. The availability of the crucial drugs is very important in every district hospital.
A senior doctor at the state-run civil hospital, who did not wish to be named said, it is the failure of provincial health department’s Medical Store Depot (MSD) to ensure the supply of life-saving drugs at public hospital that has left critical patients at the mercy of private health practitioners, who run their businesses around the hospital.
“In some emergency cases, patients need life saving drugs immediately, but due to non-availability of medicines at the hospital, the patients are instead given a prescription to purchase from the private medical stores.” The doctor lamented.
According to medical superintendent Dr. Akhter Mandokhail, the medical supplies including life saving-drugs are insufficient to cater to the needs of the hospital. The annual budgetary allocation has not been revised since long, adding the approved grant for the DHQ is insufficient for the procurement of medicines and other supplies.
DHQ caters to over half million estimated population of Zhob, comprising dozens of villages, besides the patients belong to the nearby districts Sherani, Killa Saifullah, Musakhail, nomadic population and Pak-Afghan borders areas.
