Closure of welfare pharmacies hurts needy patients in Gujrat
—Dawn GUJRAT: The District Health Authority (DHA) has shut down the pharmacies of patients’ welfare association at the Jalalpur Jattan Civil Hospital and THQ Hospitals in Kharian and Kunjah on the orders of the Punjab Health secretary affecting the poor and needy patients. A senior DHA official said that during her visit to the Jalalpur Jattan Civil Hospital last week, Health and Population…
In Gujrat, the closure of pharmacies associated with patient welfare associations at Jalalpur Jattan Civil Hospital and THQ Hospitals has adversely affected needy patients. The Punjab Health Secretary, Nadia Saqib, ordered the closure of these medical stores, citing the need for drug testing by the drug testing laboratory (DTL).
The local health authorities had previously relied on civil society and philanthropists to supplement the hospital's low official budget for medicines. However, upon Saqib’s visit to Gujrat, the pharmacies were immediately sealed, while those in Kharian and Kunjah THQs were also closed down. The Health Secretary expressed annoyance over the provision of medicines without a DTL report, which typically takes 40-50 days.
Despite Jalalpur Jattan being upgraded to a tehsil headquarters in 2022, the town still lacks a THQ-level hospital for its 700,000 residents. Local chapters of the Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan and civil society representatives have protested for a THQ hospital, but their efforts have been unsuccessful. Patients' welfare association members have called upon Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to address the situation, establish a THQ hospital, and permit the resumption of medicine provision and budget increase.
They also highlighted the revolving door of medical superintendents at Jalalpur Jattan Civil Hospital and demanded more medical officers and staff for the facility.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
