ISLAMABAD: After realising that new-borns are not covered under the health card scheme, doctors of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Wednesday donated money to treat a baby who was shifted to the hospital after she sustained severe burn injuries at a local hospital.

Later, fasciotomy, which is a surgical procedure where the fascia is cut to relieve tension or pressure in order to treat the resulting loss of circulation to an area of tissue or muscle, was done at the burn centre of the hospital and then the baby was shifted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). It is worth mentioning that on Wednesday a five-day-old baby was brought to the Pims burn centre.

The family of the baby informed it was impossible for them to afford the cost of treatment/medicines due to which it was decided to treat the baby through the health card. However, it transpired that the babies could not be treated under the health card unless their B-forms were issued by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).

Dr Mubashir Daha, who is the spokesperson for the executive director (ED), told Dawn that the parents of the infant said that the bulb of an incubator at a local hospital exploded due to which both legs of the infant were severely burnt.

Infants not covered under health card scheme

“Parents are residents of Bari Imam, and the baby was admitted to a local hospital at Taramri Chowk. After learning that the baby cannot be treated on the health card it was decided to collect donations for the treatment. Doctors contributed amount for the medicines required for the treatment and surgeries,” he said. Dr Daha said that the head of the Burn Center Dr Tariq floated the idea for donations.

“Baby has sustained 20 to 30 per cent burn injuries. Her fasciotomy was done at the burn centre and then she was shifted to the NICU of the Children’s Hospital. Although the baby is in critical condition, efforts are being made to save her life,” he said.

Replying to a question, Dr Daha said that the head of the NICU department, Dr Sadia Riaz, was heading a team which was taking all possible steps to save the life of the baby. A doctor at the burn centre, wishing not to be quoted, said that it was unfortunate that the babies were not entitled to the healthcare plan.

“We were shocked to know that parents were entitled to get treatment but their baby was not… The government and the health ministry should look into it and ensure that infants get free treatment,” he said.

It is worth mentioning that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif launched the health card scheme in December 2015 for residents of Islamabad and described it as the first step towards making Pakistan a welfare state.

During the tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the programme was extended to the rest of the country, except for most of the districts in Sindh. In April last year after the ouster of the PTI government, some hospitals suspended the service as they feared that the PML-N government might discontinue the programme as the PTI had marketed the programme as its initiative. However, the PML-N announced that the programme would not be halted.

Since the start of the scheme in 2015, the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan has been dealing with the project and in 2021 it again won the contract for the next three years (2022 to 2025).

Currently, 100pc population of Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and a few districts of Sindh are entitled to get free treatment of Rs1 million per family every year. However, last week the caretaker government in Punjab changed the policy regarding private hospitals.

The health card covers open heart surgeries, insertion of stents, management of cancer, neurosurgical procedures, burn management, accident management, dialysis, intensive care management, deliveries, C-section and other medical/surgical procedures up to the limit of Rs1 million per family annually. There is a facility of inter-provincial / inter-district portability for availing free-of-cost services at over 600 public sector and private empaneled hospitals across Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2023