Patients suffer for lack of medicine

Sumeer Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 12

The ill-preparedness of the District Health Department with regard to providing quality medical services to dengue patients has come to the fore yet again.

The IV fluid, a basic component that is administered to dengue patients to maintain their blood pressure/proper blood circulation, has been out of stock for the past three months at the dengue ward (medical ward).

As a result, dengue patients are forced to purchase it from Jan Aushadhi medical store at high prices.

Around 25-40 patients remain admitted to the medical ward. As per the records of the Health Department, nearly 40-50 IV fluid bottles are administered to patients on daily basis.

According to the medical staff appointed at the dengue ward, on an average, attendants of each patient are asked to buy 2-3 IV fluid bottles per day.

Gursewak Singh (40) (name changed), a dengue patient, said, “I purchased three bottles and two other medicines (one injectable) for Rs 300 from the Jan Aushadhi medical store on Monday. Often staff members here ask us to purchase IV fluid and medicines on our own. I am working as a mason and spending money daily for medicines is something that I cannot afford.”

A family member of another dengue patient said, “Why would poor patients with limited financial resources come to get treatment at the government hospital if they are asked to spend hundreds of rupees? We are asked to buy medicines and IV fluid from medicine stores on daily basis. It would have been better to get treatment from a private hospital.”

Sources in the department said IV fluid had not been supplied to the medical ward for the past three months (from August onwards), therefore patients are asked to purchase it on their own.

Sources added that in the first week of October, IV fluid was supplied but that lasted only for 10 days and the situation came back to the square one after that.

An employee of the Health Department, requesting anonymity, said, “We have stated our requirement of IV fluid and other important drugs to the concerned officials on a number of occasions, but the latter have not been able to ensure continuous supply of the same for past three months.”

Senior Medical Officer (SMO), Civil Hospital, Dr Satish Goyal, said, “We have written to the authorities concerned in the Health Department and it is expected that the supply of IV fluid will be resumed in a week.”