PESHAWAR:
Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar – the largest healthcare facility of its kind in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – failed to repay its debt of Rs 600 million to pharmaceutical companies, resulting in them stopping the supply of all medicines.
Due to the hospital’s financial crisis, local drug purchasing is also affected. As a result, it is impossible to provide medication to seriously ill patients who come to the emergency room.
Due to the shortage of medicines and other essential goods, patients are forced to purchase the necessary supplies on the open market before minor and major surgical procedures.
Official sources told the Express Tribune that LRH, the province’s largest teaching hospital, has run into serious difficulties due to the financial crisis.
They say that out of the regularly allocated annual budget of Rs 7 billion, the government has released Rs 550 million in monthly installments, which is not enough to meet all the requirements. The majority of the said funds are spent on the salaries of the employees, while the rest amounting to Rs 110 million is used for electricity and other utilities.
Currently, LRH has to pay Rs 600 million to pharmaceutical companies, which have also stopped supplying medicines on credit to the hospital.
According to sources, LRH is currently the largest hospital providing treatment under Sehat Insaf Card (health card) and has spent Rs 1 billion on free treatment under this scheme. The insurance company is yet to disburse the full amount of Rs 1 billion and the hospital has received Rs 700 million so far.
Official sources confirmed that the KP government had not disbursed funds to the insurance company, which in turn had not paid its debts to LRH, causing a number of problems.
Apart from being the largest hospital in the province with over 1,700 beds, the medical facility has the unique honour of treating the largest number of patients injured in explosions and other emergencies caused by the war on terror.
Apart from these emergencies, 3,000 patients are admitted to and treated in the hospital’s emergency room every day.
In addition, the outpatient clinic is visited by 3,000 patients. However, the hospital is currently suffering from serious financial shortages, which is putting the lives of the patients at risk.
According to an estimate, LRH requires Rs 900 million per month to run at speed and improve the system of purchasing medicines. According to officials, the hospital received sufficient funds during the first term of the Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI) but has suffered badly from lack of adequate funding since then.
According to the sources, the repair of various damaged equipment and machines in the hospital has stalled due to lack of funds. Doctors, especially surgeons, are very disappointed with the situation.
In recent times, many specialists have left hospitals due to the financial crisis, and growing frustration has only caused this number to rise.
On the other hand, KP Health Minister Syed Qasim Ali Shah said that MTI Hospital is independent and has to meet the expenses from its own resources. Hospitals also get income from health insurance funds and private OPDs. He said that any hospital with a shortage of funds, including LRH, will be supported.
Corruption is also rampant in the medical establishment, as evidenced by the arrest of six suspects, including three LRH employees, by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Anti-Corruption Circle Peshawar for their involvement in embezzlement of government medicines worth crores of rupees.
