DADU, Jan 5: Patients are facing hardship due to shortage of medicines in government hospitals of the district, according to a survey conducted by this correspondent.

As many as 700 hepatitis patients from different parts of the district, registered at Civil Hospital Dadu, have not received medicines for the last several months.

The Dadu district government has allocated Rs20 million for medicines of hepatitis and Rs25 million for other medicines for the Civil Hospital during the current financial year.

Nabi Bux, a patient at the hospital’s OPD, said that he had gone to civil surgeon of the hospital who did not arrange medicines for him.

Another patient suffering from hepatitis, Abid Hussain, said that he could not afford costly medicines, adding that he was a registered patient and denied medicines.

Ms Gulzaran Begum, who had come all the way from Kachho, said that she got prescription from doctors at Civil Hospital and purchased medicines from a private store.

District Social Welfare Association president Nadeem Ahmed Ghaloo, admitted at the male ward of the hospital, said that the hospital administration was charging fees for X-ray, ultrasound and blood tests from the patients. He complained that patients were not getting proper attention and services here.

Woman councillor Ms Soni Solangi said that the hospital administration was not providing ARV and ASV to patients of dog-bite and snake-bite. She alleged that medicines of Civil Hospital and taluka hospitals of Johi, Mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah were being sold at

private stores.

According to the Dadu DCO, first instalment of funds has been released to health department to purchase medicines for hepatitis patients. He said that for the first time medicines had been purchased through open tenders.

Civil Surgeon of Civil Hospital, Dr Taufiq Memon, said that only Rs900,000 out of Rs2.1 million of monthly budget of the hospital was released as a result the hospital was facing shortage of medicines.

He said that budget of fuel, equipment and instruments was also curtailed. He also linked problem of oxygen at the hospital with shortage of funds.

He said that he had told the DCO and the EDO health about shortages of funds and expected a positive response from them. He said that 200 patients of hepatitis were provided with medicines and added that the others, too, would be provided medicines soon.

EDO health Dr Qalandar Bux Khuhro said that the district was facing shortage of medicines for hepatitis patients and added that till now the DCO had released only Rs3 million out of Rs20 million.

He said that medicines for hepatitis patients were available with the government in a large quantity which needed proper distribution among the patients.

HEPATITIS: Two women died of hepatitis and over 100 villagers were found inflicted with the killer disease in Sultan Chandio village in Khairpur Nathan Shah taluka, according to villagers.