Badghis hospital lacks medicines, friendly staff: Residents

QALA-I-NAW (Pajhwok): Struggling with abject poverty, some residents of western Badghis provinces say they cannot purchase medicines from market, urging the government to supply medicines to the provincial hospital.

Jamila, mother of a three-year-old child who is suffering from pneumonia, told Pajhwok Afghan News that her daughter was hospitalized due to pneumonia, but she bought all medicines from outside the hospital.

Haunted by economic problems, she asked the public health department to take serious steps towards provision of free medicines to patients.

She also complained about what she called ‘inappropriate and ‘unfriendly’ misbehavior of some hospital staff including nurses.

Meanwhile, another woman named Jamila, whose two-year-old child fell ill due to pneumonia two days ago, said she came from Muqar district to Qala-Naw city, but the hospital's personnel treated them unkindly.

She added: "We came here out of necessity, my child’s condition did not get better in ten days, the hospital staff treats mothers whose children are sick very badly."

She said she purchased all medicines from outside the hospital.

Halimah, another patient who had brought her one-year-old daughter from Abkamri district for treatment, said it was difficult for a poor family to buy medicines from the market.

She also said: “My child fell ill three days ago and we came from Abkameri district. I don't have money. My patient is not given medicines here either. If I had money, I wouldn't have come here. I would have gone to a private clinic. Doctors don't treat us well. We ask the government to pay attention to solve these problems."

At the same time, Dr. Ajab Khan Hamidi, deputy Public Health director, told Pajhwok that donor institutions used to supply medicines. However, the number of patients visiting the 100-bed hospital was very high.

He added: "Yes, there are problems in Qala-i-Naw Provincial Hospital, there are no enough medicines. There are 100 beds in this hospital, but the number of patients is very high... It is beyond our ability to reach out to all these patients.”

He went on to say: "We have talked to the central public health authorities many times about solving our problems and increasing the number of beds in this health facility."

He assured orthopedic, ear, nose and throat and eye departments will be activated in the hospital in future.

However, Dr. Ehsanullah, Shinwari, the head of the, told Pajhwok that all medicines patients needed were arranged in cooperation with donor institutions and distributed to patients in government hospitals for free.

Regarding complaints regarding improper treatment of hospital personnel with the patients, he said the number of patients was high and the personnel could not pay attention to everyone equally.

He added: "Qala-Naw provincial hospital has 100 beds and sometimes about 200 patients come here every day, which is beyond our capacity to reach out to so many patients."

sa/ma