THATTA, July 1: A large number of patients going to the 83 health facilities in the district have complained that they are not getting free medicine. They have also complained about lack of facilities and urged the district health department to streamline the deteriorating system.

The provincial government has set up a Civil Hospital in Makli and four taluka hospitals one each in Sujawal, Mirpur Bathoro, Mirpur Sakro and Jatoi, nine rural health centres (RHC), 50 basic health units (BHUs) and 19 dispensaries to provide health facilities to a population of over 1.2 million.

This correspondent met a large number of outdoor patients as well as those admitted to the Civil Hospital Makli, who contested the official claim of free medicines’ supply and said that they had to purchase spurious and substandard medicine from the two private medical stores reportedly running within the premises of hospital ‘illegally’.

The provincial secretary health, during his recent visit of Makli Civil Hospital, had taken serious notice of these privately –run medical stores and had constituted a two-member committee comprising the EDO Health of Thatta and an EDO of Health from Karachi to furnish a detailed report.

Sources told Dawn that the system of medicine handling in Makli Civil Hospital was entrusted to a dispenser who got himself designate as a store keeper.

While visiting the drug store of the hospital, this correspondent saw important medicines and drugs dumped in an improper manner in a temperature quite against the instructions inscribed on the packets of the medicines.

The Medical Superintendent (MS) of the Hospital, Dr. Lal Mir Shah, agreed that as per rules, the lowest bidder was to be preferred while procuring medicines. He substantiated patients’ claims of provision of substandard medicines at the hospital by saying: “We can not get quality medicine at low price”. He also admitted that all the patients were not getting free medicines.

The EDO of Health, Dr Dawood Hilayo, said that the department, much against its regular budget allocation of medicine, which was Rs34.050 million got a modified allocation of Rs24.550 million this year, out of which Rs18.750 million had been released up to June 2007.

In addition, he said, the district government had allocated Rs5 million for those patients (who had either been operated upon or would be operated soon) to avail the facility of free medicines.

Except this amount, the health facilities were generating its funds also by recovering Rs 3 per patient as “Parchee fee” which is now to be enhanced to Rs5 plus recoveries from ultra sound and X-Ray etc.

However, he admitted that all the patients were not getting free medicines and the standard of medicines being provided free of cost to a handful of patients was not ‘up to mark’.

Both the EDO and MS agreed that the incentives of the multinational pharmaceutical companies aimed at winning over doctors and the administration of the hospital, were one of the prime reasons for the declining standard of medicines.

The standard of the medicines being supplied to the patients could not be improved despite a 20 per cent increase in the budget by the district government of Thatta during the current fiscal, sources said.

When contacted, the Director- General of Health Service Sindh, Dr Hadi Bux Jatoi, said that all the health facilities were bound to provide free medicine to patients without any discrimination but if it is not so, he would personally look into the matter and initiate an inquiry.

He said recently he had reported against some doctors from Karachi who were posted in Thatta for failing to regularly attend their duties.