CHARIKAR (Pajhwok): Some residents of central Parwan province say poor services are being provided at the provincial hospital and also complain about doctors’ behavior with patients, but local officials say the number of patients visiting the hospital has tripled which shows quality services are provided.
The officials say the provincial hospital in Charikar provides health services at obstetrics, general medicine, pediatrics and surgery departments.
Farmina, a resident of Bagram district, said they walked about seven kilometers and then traveled 35 kilometers by a car to take her ailing sister to the provincial hospital, but when she entered the hospital, she saw what she did not expect.
She said doctors’ behavior with relatives of patients was not good and she purchased all needed medicines for her sister from private pharmacy stores.
Ahmad Wali a resident of Siah Gird district, said: “We took a relative for child delivery to the provincial hospital, but doctors there paid no attention to the patient, the doctors told us your patient had to wait for longer time. As her pain was unbearable, we took her to a private hospital where she delivered the baby after three hours”.
Ahmad Wali complained about doctors’ misbehavior and said: “When we entered the hospital, the doctors did not pay any attention to us, we were desperate for attention, every doctor would refer us to another doctor and they had no satisfying answer, but after half hour, they told us that your patient will deliver baby after three days, you must leave”.
He said ordinary people visited the government hospital due to their dire economic situation.
Khatera Nikzad, who visited the hospital some days ago, said: “We took our patient to this hospital, but those who had connections and reference were paid attention and others returned without being examined, we waited for a long time, but our turn did not come.”
She said after the Islamic Emirate’s takeover, problems in the hospital were solved and visitors were satisfied with its services, but it did not last long and now people were once again complaining.
Khatera said: “There are problems in the hospital, especially the obstetrics ward is not paid any attention, doctors and other servicemen get money from relatives of patients”.
She said visitors who had middlemen were given priority in the hospital in the past and this problem resolved after the IEA came to power, but soon resurfaced.
Abdul Ghaffar, another resident of Siah Gird district, who was visiting an orthopedic doctor for his back problem, said: “Doctors of the provincial hospital could not diagnose the reason for my pain because they have no X-Ray service in the hospital, so they sent me to a private hospital, our economic situation is not good and these hospitals are established to serve the people”.
He asked the officials to pay attention to the hospital.
Doctor Abdullah Afghan Mal, public health department deputy head, said the number staff in the hospital during the previous government was 190, but now their number had been increased to 218.
He said the hospital was not short of specialist doctors and the provincial Public Health Department was monitoring this hospital seriously.
About the complaint that patients are not offered medicines, he said: “Patients who are admitted are offered all medicines, but other patients must purchase one half of the medicines from private pharmacy stores”.
Afghan Mal said some humanitarian organizations had stopped their activities in Parwan province and medicines that were provided by such organizations had been also deducted from the list of free medicines.
He said the hospital was previously provided with 270 types of medicines, but currently the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was providing only 160 types of medicines for prescription to the hospital.
According to Afghan Mal, the number of patients visiting the hospital has tripled compared to the past. He said currently up to 900 people daily visited the hospital for treatment, which shows better services are provided.
“The provincial Public Health Department is monitoring the activities of this hospital and no one is paid money as bribes”.
aw/ma
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