• Number of underprivileged patients has grown significantly this year due to sky-rocketing inflation, doctors say
• Hospital official says health minister promised to look into the matter

KARACHI: The Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) — a key tertiary care public sector hospital in the city catering to thousands of poor patients daily from across Sindh as well as Balochistan — faces a significant reduction in its annual allocation for laboratory services, it emerged on Wednesday.

Sources said the situation worsened recently when vendors failed to provide their committed diagnostic supplies in time, resulting in an almost complete closure of lab services for a few days.

The crisis, they said, hit the patients hard as they either availed the facility for free or at highly subsidised rates.

“The facility has gradually restored since last Saturday, though some diagnostic kits are still not available in adequate quantities. The situation can again emerge, if immediate steps are not taken to resolve it,” shared a senior JPMC doctor on condition of anonymity, adding that such a crisis hadn’t developed before.

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Sources said the provincial government usually enhanced the hospital allocation for lab services by 20 to 25 per cent every year. But, this hadn’t been done this year.

“The year 2024 has also seen a dramatic increase in prices of basic commodities along with an 18 per cent government tax on all medical items that’s affecting service delivery. It’s ironic that the provincial government, in these challenging circumstances, has decided not to make the annual increase in the budget allocation for laboratory services at a major hospital that caters to hundreds and thousands of poor patients,” regretted another doctor.

The number of these poor patients, he said, had grown significantly this year on account of sky-rocketing inflation.

Speaking to Dawn, Dr Kausar Abbas, senior professor heading medical procurement department at the hospital, said there was no cut in the budget allocation and that delayed supplies by vendors had briefly affected lab services at the hospital recently.

“But, this was only for a day and the services were soon restored. However, this matter has nothing to do with the annual enhancement in allocation for lab services,” she said.

“Every year, funds for lab services are increased given the growing number of patients. But, this hasn’t happened this year. We have informed the health minister about this who has promised to look into the matter and fulfil the requirements of the hospital and patients’ needs.”

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2024