Women forced to undergo caesarean at private hospitals of underprivileged areas of Sindh

KANDHKOT    -   Unnecessary caesarean (C-Section) is being con­ducted in mostly private clinics, hospitals and vari­ous medical centres of the upper Sindh. Since gy­necologists of underprivileged areas the country mainly Larkana, Kandhkot, Kashmore, Tangwani, Karampur, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Jacobabad and oth­ers are playing with the precious lives of pregnant women by warning patient’s family that they must get them operated otherwise her and baby’s life is at risk. To save lives of both mother and child without delay they decide for caesarean. It was observed that private clinics and hospitals are re­sponsible for increasing of caesarean births.

It has been reported that lady doctors operate pregnant women having multiple packages as they charge various fees included OT charges, medi­cines, room service and operational fees. It is irony that the amount of C-Section exceeds above 60 to 80 thousands rupees while charges of normal de­livery are 5,000 to 8,000. This amount is insuffi­cient for such pitiless and greedy lady doctors in order to charge heavy fees. 

They deliberately operate pregnant women on the pretext of risk and pursue them to be C-Section in order to secure their lives. Although there are various opinions of gynecologists; some claim that many pregnant women prefer C-Section, whereas other blame that doctors of private hospitals warn to their families and relatives for surgery or C-Section. The private centres and hospitals charge their fees with their own intention and have mul­tiple doctors at their panel but it is irony that they don’t provide proper service to their patients matching their fees as a result mostly poor people unaware of the critical condition of their major operation although they can’t any claim or blame , the lady doctors for such wrong operation owing to undertaken by medical staff prior to surgery neither take any legal action against the doctors for precious lives lost. 

Whereas it has been complaints from various people that medicines which is used for surgery or use in caesarean by doctors are also commis­sioned base since the doctors get favours in cash or kind from various local pharmaceutical com­pany through medical representatives even local pharma companies offer them visit visas of vari­ous countries and other tour programmes. Such offers lure the doctors and they prescribed low standard medicines and vaccines having less effect as compare to multinational pharma companies. 

When this scribe approached to famous gyne­cologists of the city they categorically rejected all the allegations and considered these as baseless .They explained that they are not getting commis­sions from pharma companies rather prefer tested and researched products from well known pharma companies they told that above 80 percent preg­nant women have desire for caesarean section in­stead of normal delivery and we never force them for surgery. According to various medical reports, due to defying the rules and regulations set by government, there are doubled ratio of C-Section births in health sectors since C-Section rates are higher in private hospitals as compared to pub­lic hospitals. It is pertinent to add here that the pharmaceutical companies give financial benefit and other precious gifts to the doctors and in re­turn they prescribe medicines and vaccines of the company. It is also reported that there are number of doctors who don’t demand or get any gift from those pharma companies while they prescribe medicines with their own choice. On the other hand, those doctors who demand precious gifts or want to go to any tour on expenditure of the phar­ma companies may be they had never think that they are playing with the lives of human beings. 

Government of Pakistan particularly health de­partment should pay attention in this regard and take strict action against ruthless lady doctors and specially gynecologists who are involved in taking commission from pharmaceutical companies and conduct unnecessary C-Section.

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