LAYYAH: Hepatitis patients have been deprived of the clinical test facility for the last five months due to lack of funds at the Layyah District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital as its stature has not been upgraded from category C to A hospital.

The hospital has a well-equipped functional laboratory of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test as well as has qualified molecular specialists.

The PCR lab has performed 6,000 tests from March 1, 2018, to Feb 28, 2019, and these tests were positive. The only PCR in south Punjab performed these tests with Rs700,000 from the funds of the hospital. The hospital made a contract according to the PEPRA rules to buy kits and chemicals. PCR lab terms do not provide any provision of the running costs.

No additional funds were provided to the hospital, says Medical Superintendent Dr Atiqur Rehman. The Layyah DHQ hospital was started as a 125-bed hospital and now it has 340 beds but the notification regarding the upgrade of the hospital has not been issued. On average, the hospital receives 1,500 patients every month, as per the record of the hepatitis clinic. He demanded that the lab be declared a regional lab so that hepatitis patients from the region be tested and treated here.

The DHQ hospital has facility of 44 beds in the emergency unit, 12 in dialysis unit, 40 in medical ward, 20 in chest ward, 25 in orthopedic ward, 20 in eye ward, 10 in ENT ward, 31 in cardiology ward, 18 in the ICU and operation theater and one bed in the prisoner ward. The Punjab government issued a notification in 2004 that the minimum bed strength of a DHQ hospital was 125. Time to time, the hospital was added but no notification of its upgrade of the hospital was issued.

The registered Hepatitis B and C patients with the clinic are 253 and 547 but for the last two months, Hepatitis B patients are not receiving free medical treatment from the government.

District physician Dr Zafar Iqbal says that the hepatitis diagnosis costs Rs7,000 to 8,000 per person whereas the treatment cost is much cheaper than the clinical investigation process.

MPA Rafaqat Ali Gilani, also special assistant to the chief minister, maintained that the government was trying to provide state of the art health facilities to the people and he would ensure the upgrade of the DHQ hospital.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2019