Ghor residents demand better health services

FIROZKOH (Pajhwok): A number of residents of western Ghor province complain about lack of medicine and adequate beds in the provincial healthcare centers, saying even critically ill patients are denied admission due to shortage of beds.

Ghor Public Health Department acknowledges problems in health centers and says the Provincial Civil Hospitalhad has 150 beds while the number of visitors reaches hundreds on a daily basis.

Hafizullah, a resident of Dolina district of Ghor, who brought his sick child to Ghor Provincial Civil Hospital for treatment, complained about lack of medicine and refusal of his child to be hospitalized.

“My child is sick, there is no clinic available in our area so I brought him here, but the medicine here is not free, my child is seriously sick, doctors say there are no unoccupied beds available to hospitalize my child, they gave me a prescription and told me to buy medicine and go home,” he said.

Bibi Noor, another patient attendant, said she brought her child to the hospital more than a week ago and he was laid on a bed with many other children.

"A few days ago, acnes appeared on the body of my child. I brought him here to the hospital, doctors examined him and we bought the prescribed medicine, but he is yet to recover, there are two or three children laid in a single bed,” she said.

Both the patient attendants urged the local and central governments to address their problems.

On the other hand, Ghor health officials confirmed lack of beds for patients in this hospital and said that they are trying to address the problem.

Abdul SattarMowaffaq, Ghor public health director, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the provincial hospital had 150 beds, but the number of patients was too high.

"Dozens of people come to the hospital every day for treatment, most of them need hospitalization, but the hospital has the capacity only for 150 people. We are obliged to hospitalize more than 200 patients in the hospital,” he said.

He added that they have discussed all problems of the hospital with the central government and efforts were underway to address them.

He said district clinics needed to be upgraded so it would help reduce high burden on the Provincial Civil Hospital.

Mowaffaq said that they have supplied medicine to all district clinics but there was still need for more medicine as it was difficult for health teams to transfer medicine to remote areas during the winter.

Local officials say 17 children had died of measles and malnutrition since the beginning of ongoing solar year in Ghor.

mds/ma