Only 45 of 159 notified drugs available at Pathankot hospital

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune New Service

Pathankot, April 20

Statistics from official sources said out of 159 medicines notified by the Health Department which are to be given free of cost to patients at the local Civil Hospital, only 45 are available following which patients are forced to buy the medicines at exorbitant rates from chemist shops dotting the hospital.

A majority of the patients belong to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) strata.

The situation is such that doctors ask these poor people to “buy medicines from chemist shops”. Although no doctor is willing to go on record, the fact remains that these physicians “pocket a heavy commission from chemists by resorting to this unhealthy practice”.

However, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Bhupinder Singh claimed that the shortage was temporary. “We always face this shortage at this time of the year. Because of the end of the financial year, there are some budgetary hassles to go through and once these glitches are sorted out there will be no shortage at all and all the 159 medicines will be available free of cost. Moreover, we have written to the Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC) regional warehouse at Verka to expedite the supply of drugs. All our drugs come from the Verka warehouse. We are awaiting our next stock which is due to arrive soon,” he added.

He said despite the shortage, life-saving drugs are still available in the hospital.

“Drugs pertaining to ENT and heart diseases are always in stock. Moreover, medicines and injections related to delivery cases and children are also in stock. It is just a matter of time when all the notified medicines will be available in the hospital,” added Dr Bhupinder Singh.

However, till then the poor patients will continue to be forced to purchase drugs from chemists at prices which are simply unaffordable to them.