MINGORA: The patients and their attendants have complained about lack of medicines and other equipment in Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital.

They have demanded of the government to provide the required medicines to the hospital immediately. They said that they had to purchase medicines and other medical equipment from the market.

Fakhr -i-Alam, whose family member was admitted to the hospital after he was bitten by a dog, said that doctors prescribed some medicines for the patients that were neither available in hospital nor in the market.

MD says letter sent to authorities for medical supplies

“My cousin has been hospitalised since last week after he was bitten by a stray dog but the vaccine for dog bite is not available in the hospital. I searched the vaccines in the market but it was not available there too due to which our whole family is in tension,” he said.

Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital is the largest health facility in the entire Malakand division where patients from all the seven districts come for treatment.

“My brother is hospitalised for the last three days but we buy medicines and other equipment from the market as the hospital administration and doctors say they have no medicines,” said Akbar Khan, an attendant with a patient. He added that he was also not satisfied with the treatment of the patient.

The attendants of the patients said that government made tall claims about improving health sector but medicines were not available in the hospital. “My son has been admitted to the hospital and whenever I go to the medicines store they send me to market saying the store is short of medicines,” said Suleman, a resident of Shapur in Shangla district.

Sources said that the hospital had been short of medicines for the last three months.

According to the hospital administration, the hospital was short of some medicines as fund approved for the purpose was not released by the government.

The medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr Jahangir, said that he had sent a letter to the authorities concerned for provision of medicines. He hoped that the hospital would get the medicines soon.

During a recent visit to Swat, Minister for Health Shahram Tarakai had promised to probe shortage of medicines in the hospital and sort out the issue.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2018