IF you happen to visit a government hospital, you would see long queues of patients waiting for their turn at one counter or the other. Your mind would be flooded with questions, making you wonder why the queues are not moving.

Is it all by design, or is there a lack of staff, or is it just corruption at work? You would never know the answers to these critical questions. I faced this situation recently at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), which is the largest public-sector hospital in Karachi.

There were two counters in the blood testing area, and two long queues had formed in front of each of them. Unfortunately, only one person was seated at one of the counters, dealing with both the queues by taking one patient from each line one after another.

Needless to say, the queue was moving at a snail’s pace, and the patients, suffering from pain and illnesses, were standing for hours waiting for their turn. This was sheer inhumanity on display. Sadly, I experience it every time I visit the JPMC.

Shafiqun Nisa
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2024