The Punjab government has decided to slash funding to District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Muzaffargarh's lone dialysis centre by a whopping 80 per cent, DawnNewsTV learnt on Friday.

Dr Munir Ahmed, the director general (DG) of health service, on Thursday held a video call with various hospital heads, including the dialyses centre in-charge Dr Maqbool Alam, during which he said he was informed that DHQ would be provided over 80pc less funds for dialysis.

According to Dr Alam, under the remaining funds, only 10 patients would be able to avail free dialysis each day.

Over 50 underprivileged patients were availing free dialyses each day over the course of three shifts. He said there were over 600 dialyses patients registered at the centre.

He added that patients require dialyses twice a week for their survival.

During the video conference, as per Alam, the DG said the government could not bear the cost of providing 50 to 55 patients dialyses treatment every day.

On Friday, following the change, over 30 patients who had arrived for the treatment were sent back.

They protested outside the centre saying that administration officials had told them they would not be provided with free treatment next time and that they would need to purchase the supplies for the treatment — which cost over Rs4,000 — themselves.

The patients complained that they would be unable to purchase the supplies as they earned enough for two meals a day and that too with difficulty.

When Dr Alam was asked why patients who had come from far-flung areas were being sent back, he said they only had 10 dialysers for emergency patients.

He said if patients had an emergency or if they brought the supplies for the treatment themselves, the centre would conduct their dialyses. In addition, he said they would refer the patients to the alternative option which was in Multan.