Muhammad Aamir Ali
VEHARI
The District Headquarters Hospital of Vehari has failed to provide healthcare to people while the private hospitals and clinic have been cashing in on the situation due to its administration's connivance with pharmaceutical companies and private hospitals.
Lawyers, traders, civil society activist and common public of Vehari protested against the administration of DHQ Hospital. They said that it was the biggest hospital in the district but due to negligence of the doctors and staff, patients and their attendance are faced with lots of difficulties.
They said that gross irregularities have been unearthed in the Health Department regarding the purchase of medicines for the hospital. They added that Accountant Muhammad Iftikhar, Store In-charge Abdul Qayyum and others clerical staff strike deals with pharmaceutical companies and medical stores for the supply of substandard medicines to the hospital and they are also involved in corruption, the protesters alleged.
They said that admin of DHQ Vehari received millions of rupees funds every year for medicines but the situation was deteriorating as administration had failed to provide healthcare for the patients. The people have repeatedly complained to Medical Superintendent Shahid Saleem but to no avail as he showed his helplessness due to political interference in the hospital affairs.
They said that hospital staff adopted unbecoming attitude with the patients and EDO Health Afzal Bashir and the MS were responsible for the worsening affairs of DHQ Hospital.
The protesters including advocates Akhtar Nadeem, Amjad Afzal, Kashif Shah, Nazir Sanghera, Sultan Gujjar and others said that most of the private hospitals were being run by the government employed doctors. The DHQ hospital Vehari is also ideal spot for the aspirants of getting fake medico-legal certificates, they said.
They said thousands of patients visit the hospital daily for medical treatment but they turn to private clinics and hospitals due absence of doctors and treatment facilities. They demanded that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif should look into the matter and take action against the corrupt mafia.
When contacted, the medical superintendent denied the allegations, and said that the officials performed their duties honestly while the accountant refused to comment.