Minting money from impecunious, less privileged, earth trodden, gullible and compelled people trademarked as (patients) has never been easier for health messiahs. Incidentally they “patients” are the ones who happen to keep the oil burning in the homes of elites of Larkana yet are easily seen suffering and cringing not with pain but by the callous rebukes by health personnel including peons, dispensers and door attendants.
Yet Larkana city is now booming with medical centre business. Doctors from almost all classes, gender, cadre, qualification with abbreviated jargoned alphabets seemingly tricking as being sought from world renowned medical schools with scintillating certificates at large decorated in and around the corridors and chambers. There have not been more than just a few centres with exclusive reason for the high earning class just a few years ago yet within a few years time, plots nearby government hospital with ever surging price making owner- billionaire overnight. The area scandalously called Dr’s Avenue comes alive just after sunset with patients gaping around holding paper chit with doctor’s addresses. Towering buildings plastering colorful patient awareness charts, eager beavers, grinning with happy faces with thought of getting kharchee, come stumbling forward to help the same poor people only this time with the promise of full fees. Hardly do they give a hack to what these patients may have sold or mortgaged their homely gears to manage fees and medicines that are about to flood consultant’s heavy gauge prescription paper.
Chandka Medical College & Hospital now blissfully branded with former Prime Minister Ms Benazir Bhutto and her family members after awarding as University- Shaheed Muhtarma benazir Bhutto Medical University-SMBBU Larkana housing a dental college dearly nicknamed over her daughter Bibi Aseefa Bhutto who perhaps would cringe over the pathetic scene this institute entails supported all along by a blood camp that they refutably claim as never been financed with government budget is yet shameful sham health facility for the poor in the city.
In early 1970’s there were only two Medical Colleges in Sindh, one in Karachi and other in Jamshoro. The then Prime Minster of Pakistan, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who belonged to Larkana city, had the vision that there should be a Medical College in this area and announced a Medical college in the very city with the name of Chandka Medical College. The college started functioning on 20th April 1973.
The request was fully supported and applauded by 500 graduates of CMC to which Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed gave a knot.
Subsequently the dream, for establishing a Medical University in Larkana city, was fulfilled through an announcement by the Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah on 12th April 2008. This announcement gave a hope to the faculty of CMC and People of Larkana for the amelioration of society.
According to disclosed sources by The Young Associates a consulting Engineers, Architects and Planners, ill planning and poor Construction work of new building of Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) Larkana near village Arija Moen jo Daro road was witnessed. It was learnt that one of contractor abandoned the ongoing work and escaped with advance payment and security amount due to incompetency and inefficiency of concerned authorities of SMBBMU. Benazir Bhutto Medical University Larkana was allowed to be established by Benazir Bhutto on 18th October 2008.The project of construction work with cost of Rs 1 billion was approved by government on 2012 and started without going through soil test, environmental report, feasibility report and other requirements. Rs. 200 million each has been reserved for the establishment of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University, Larkana in 2015-16 Federal Budget but all fail to avail the needy patients as most of the patients are forced to buy medicines out from pharmacies situated either within hospital premises over huge rent receiveable by administration of from city medical stores. Hospital administration collects million of rupees over OPD slips and diagnostic advices issued by OPD doctors and indoor medical personnel. Incidentally all the medicines purchased by poor are incredulously utilized as not one unit of it returned to them as they ultimately do find the shelves of the same chemist who later buys them back on cut price not from the poor patient but by the hospital staff.
With hefty health planned for Larkana and its peripheral health outlets Rs33 billion, although its all set to offer a promising health facilities, yet one wonders why Larkana doctors and health personnel are treated with sarcasm and raised eye-brows when their prescription paper is displayed before world renowned and highly qualified doctors in metropolitan cities where health personnel do not take human health for granted and consider this business as nothing less than a filthy human trade.
The current revenue expenditure of health excluding medical education has been increased by 32 percent from Rs 43.48 billion in the current fiscal year to Rs 57.49 billion in the next fiscal year 2015.
In addition to allocation for health, Rs 3.94 billion have been allocated for medical education as against Budget Estimates of Rs 3.36 billion; showing a yearly increase of 17.26 percent The next year ADP of health sector is estimated at Rs 13 billion, which includes Rs 10.063 billion for the continuing schemes and Rs 2.937 billion for new ones.
This is almost 35 percent higher than the released amount in the current fiscal year. In addition, an amount of more than Rs 1 billion is estimated to be spent pm vertical programs in health such as EPI, MNCH, Hepatitis control, Prevention & Control of Blindness, TB and Malaria Control Programs.
Besides, provincial ADP and Federal PSDP, Rs 2.38 billion have been allocated for foreign funded projects of Health Department, which are Nutrition Support Program of Sindh (Rs 1.385 billion; IDA) and Establishment of Child Health Care Institute at Sukkur(Rs 1 billion; Korea)
City hospital with surging health budgetary incentives offer only free consultation by those doctors who otherwise would croon to have them at their private clinics yet fail as they are only the ones who take orders from their bosses they should refer whom they consider more miserable and only be referred to their private offices.
Ms. Gulzar Begum-46 year old resident of Larkana city, suffering from chronic osteo arthritis since a decade, got so sick of city’s so called professor and leading orthopedician’s remarks after numerous medical tests conducted over his advice from a specific medical laboratory of her condition being nothing but a painful condition, when finally was advised to see someone in Karachi, found her length of embarrassment when her prescription was thrown in a nearby dust-bin after a thorough checkup she was asked to stop all the medication and go for the physiotherapy. She is now among happy humans.
Painfully among 20 centres operating in Larkana city, none of them offers emergency medical care for the accidental and other grave medical conditions. They are simply asked so many complicated and tricky questions that people are astonished and are either turned back to government hospital for initial consultation then to the same centre only this time under admonished orders from a professor and to be charged under his name or to some private chamber where medical aide come for the professional help under private medical centre’s room where a doctor under centre’s payroll guides him/her to private room ready to be skimmed financially. Each centre charges a hefty amount of Rs; 1000/ to Rs; 3000/ per day with additional amount of air conditioning according to extra meter planted in the room. The centres are boasted to be equipped with ready-made diagnostic laboratory cum X-Ray machines, you just have to shout for it and here comes an aide with mobile equipment in the tow. Like a menu card in a busy restaurant, you need to pick the rate and medical test out of the printed chart. The business is booming with increasing number of players waiting to be embarked on the money minting journey with no regard to human health and the jeopardy it may entangle the common people.
By Alyabbas.
The author has been associated with pharmaceuticals since many years, author of several research material on the subject including health and finance published in various magazines and journals. He can be reached by mail to this scribe.