PESHAWAR, Feb 25: Hepatitis patients currently receiving free treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital would suffer if additional funds were not released immediately, sources said on Sunday.

The provincial government had launched a free treatment programme for hepatitis-C patients at the hospital last year.

The government had provided Rs10million from the Endowment Fund that was set up for providing free treatment to chronically-ill patients.

Sources said the government had asked the authorities concerned to provide free treatment to 600 patients.

So far, they said they had registered 394 patients.

Of the total registered patients, 358 have been receiving free treatment facilities till February 6, and the rest of 36 patients are on the waiting list.

Sources said that the higher authorities wanted the officials concerned at the LRH to furnish them with details about the number of patients and the cost of treatment per patient.

The government wanted full details of the amount spent so far on the treatment of hepatitis-C patients and only then would release the additional fund, said sources.

Officials at the LRH say that funds were needed to enable them to continue with the treatment of registered patients.

They demanded that the additional funds should immediately be released.

They said that the government had asked the officials concerned to provide free treatment facilities to 600 patients by June 2007.

“If the additional funds are not released the patients who are currently being treated would be at the receiving end,” said an official.

He said that discontinuing their treatment at this stage would amount to causing more harm to them than the benefit.

If the additional funds were provided they would be able to provide complete treatment course to the registered patients.

They said that they would also be able to extend free treatment facilities to 600 patients, according to the government’s directives.