LAHORE: Punjab`s secondary healthcare hospitals are fast heading to the critical shortage of the life-saving drugs due to the wrong priorities of the health department which is focused on the new initiatives of the incumbent government, ignoring the needs of the patients depending on the public hospitals.

It is evident from the fast declining stock of essential drugs that dropped to 41pc at the 34 district headquarter (DHQ) hospitals and 39pc at 131 tehsil headquarters (THQ) hospitalsin the province.

The procurement of nearly 227 essential medicines (items) for the DHQ and 200items for the THQ hospitals was made `centrally` by the primary & secondary healthcare department for the fiscal year 2023-24.

An official, privy to the development, declared it negligence on the part of the health department high-ups for not ensuring provision of drugs to hospitals and keeping a track of supply chain. He said it was responsibility of the primary & secondary health department secretary and the director general of the drug control wing to make sure that the DHQ and THQ hospitals have placed orders for supply of all essential medicines procured centrally.

The official claimed that stock of essential drugs at the hospitals had never gone below 70pc in the past because provision of medicines to patients of far-flung and rural districts had been a priority of the successive governments. However, he added, it had dropped once to dead level during the PTI government`s term in Punjab, leading to criticism by the patients who lashed out at the rulers.

`The available stock of the essential medicines may come to an end within a month orso as the drugs are used or distributed daily among the patients at each hospital.

The official termed it a blatant violation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) by the top health authorities and the heads of the hospitals.

As per the procedure, the drugs supply used to take nearly 50 and in some cases 90 days to reach the hospitals due to the cumbersome procedure.

`If a hospital places an order for the medicines supply and the drugs reach the hospital, only the Drug Testing Laboratory (DTL) testing procedure takes 40 days for clearance,` the official said.

As the stock of the available drugs at the DHQ and THQ hospitals is heading towards the dead level, the situation may create the worst crisis of shortage of the critical medicines public hospitals, he warned.

The medicines are mostly used for patients in emergency wards, some in outpatient departments (OPDs) and others in indoor departments.

About the stock, the official data available with Dawn, speaks volumes of the scaleof grave situation and negligence of the health officers concerned. The available stock of the essential medicines at DHQ Hospital Kasur dropped to 25pc, at Chiniot hospital 26pc, DHQ Hospital Okara 42pc, DHQ Hospital Layyah 37, Wah General Hospital Taxila Rawalpindi 36pc, Nankana Sahib 31pc, DHQ Hospital Bhakkar 30pc, Jhang and Khushab 34pc, 33pc at hospitals in Chakwal, Hafizabad, Jhelum and Okara, Mandi Bahauddin and Multan 30pc.

The situation is also almost same at the THQ hospitals as the essential medicines stocks at the Govt Eye & General Hospital Swami Nagar Shalimar Lahore was reported to be 25pc, Govt General Hospital Police Lines Qilla Gujjar Singh, Lahore, 18pc, THQ Hospital Chichawatni, Sahiwal, and THQ Hospital Depalpur, Okara, 38pc, THQ Chobara, Layyah, and Safdarabad, Sheilchupura, 39pc, THQ Hospital 18-Hazari, Jhang, 24pc, THQ Hospital Bhowana, Chiniot, 18pc, THQ Chunian, Kasur, 22pc, THQ Darya Khan Bhakkar 23pc, THQ Isakhel 37pc, THQ Ferozewala 39pc, THQ Muridke 24pc.Health Secretary Nadia Saquib didn`t respond to the calls and the texts for her version.

Punjab Health Services Director General Dr Ilyas told Dawn, `the Directorate is not responsibleforthe stock position as the hospitals are to make sure the stock of essential medicines for the patients as 70pc of the total drugs are procured at the hospitals level under the supervision of DCs of the respective districts. The rest of 30pc stock is purchased centrally.

He said the hospitals themselves would be responsible directly for not having sufficient stock of medicines.

`To my knowledge, the hospitals have placed orders for the supply of the essential drugs and if there is any delay, it would be on the part of the companies concerned,` Dr Ilyas said.

To a question, he replied that the supply of the medicines would usually take 60 days after the placement of the order. `Even then, in case of any emergency requirement, the health department is all set to provide them the drugs,` he said.