Patients at receiving end as finance ministry slashes govt hospitals funds

What can be termed a step against the wellbeing of patients, the Ministry of Finance has slashed millions of rupees from funds allocated for government hospitals under the pretext of austerity drive, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.

Sources told the 24News TV channel that the ministry had deducted more than Rs390 million from the funds earmarked for the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, which was already awaiting the delivery of Rs1 billion.

Similarly, they informed, millions of rupees had also been deducted from the funds set aside for Poly Clinic, Islamabad, FGH and other hospitals, prompting their administrations to write to the Ministry of Health to take notice of the situation.

In a letter, sources added, the PIMS management had requested the health ministry to raise the issue with the finance ministry and get government hospitals exempted from the austerity drive.

Sources elaborated that hospital administrations were facing great difficulties as they had been barred from purchasing goods, which had badly affected the services they offered to patients.

PIMS is facing an acute shortage of petrol and diesel for powering generators and vehicles.

And to make matters worse, sources disclosed, there were fears that patients at PIMS would no longer be able to purchase medicines for free after cut in funds.

It is pertinent to mention here that patients get medicines free of cost on the instructions of the prime minister.

Sources revealed that the PIMS now had only been left with stocks of medicines that could last only one month.

Reporter: Babar Shahzad Turk