{"id":11320,"date":"2025-08-24T13:03:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T08:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/?p=11320"},"modified":"2025-08-24T13:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T08:03:10","slug":"medicine-shortage-at-sukkur-civil-hospital-poor-patients-forced-to-buy-drugs-from-private-pharmacies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/?p=11320","title":{"rendered":"Medicine Shortage at Sukkur Civil Hospital: Poor Patients Forced to Buy Drugs from Private Pharmacies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sukkur<\/strong> \u2013 The provision of free medicines at Civil Hospital Sukkur<\/strong>, one of the largest government healthcare facilities in Sindh, has become increasingly difficult, leaving poor patients distressed and helpless. Reports indicate that essential medicines have virtually disappeared from the hospital\u2019s medical store, compelling patients to purchase costly drugs from private pharmacies outside the hospital premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Complaints from Patients and Citizens<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Patients and their attendants have voiced strong concerns over the deteriorating situation. They demand immediate intervention from higher authorities, alleging negligence and carelessness on the part of the hospital administration. Citizens argue that a facility meant to provide relief to the poor is instead pushing them toward private markets, where inflated prices place a heavy burden on already struggling families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local residents and patient groups have urged the provincial health authorities to ensure the availability of medicines at government hospitals<\/strong> and to hold responsible staff accountable for creating what they describe as an \u201cartificial shortage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Daily Struggle at the OPD<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Details reveal that Civil Hospital Sukkur, which caters not only to local residents but also to patients traveling from rural areas of Sindh, has been unable to meet even basic standards of healthcare delivery. Patients arriving at the hospital face difficulties from the very first step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Outpatient Department (OPD), long queues form as patients wait for hours just to obtain a consultation slip. After finally reaching the doctor\u2019s room, they are examined and issued prescriptions for government-supplied medicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But their ordeal does not end there. When patients take their prescription slips to the hospital\u2019s medical store, they are often turned away by staff with the explanation: \u201cThese medicines are not available here. You will have to purchase them outside from private pharmacies.\u201d In some cases, patients are told to return to the doctor and ask for alternative prescriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For poor families who have already spent the entire day standing in line, this is nothing short of humiliating. Many leave the hospital only to purchase the prescribed drugs from nearby private shops at high prices, further straining their financial resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voices of the Patients<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Patients and their attendants have questioned why this shortage exists in the first place. According to them, if the Sindh government is indeed sending sufficient supplies of medicines to public hospitals, then the stock should be available for distribution. The fact that patients leave empty-handed raises serious concerns about whether the supplies are being mismanaged, misappropriated, or deliberately withheld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis hospital is supposed to serve the poor. If we cannot get medicines here, what is the point of coming all the way from our villages after hours of travel?\u201d one attendant remarked. Another patient added: \u201cWe wait in long queues, get prescriptions, and yet we are told the medicines are out of stock. How are we supposed to afford private pharmacies when we barely have money for food?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allegations of Negligence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Observers note that the issue is not limited to a shortage of medicines. Patients also complain about harsh behavior from staff, mismanagement in OPD queues, and poor coordination in the operation theater wards<\/strong>. This neglect adds to the misery of those who often travel from distant villages of Sindh, hoping for free treatment in a government facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shortage of medicines is seen as a symptom of a deeper administrative failure<\/strong> at Civil Hospital Sukkur. Citizens allege that the crisis is man-made, resulting from poor management or deliberate misallocation of resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public Outrage and Demands<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The matter has sparked outrage in Sukkur\u2019s civil society circles. Citizens and patient groups argue that the hospital administration must be held accountable for failing to provide even the most basic facilities. They have appealed to the Caretaker Provincial Health Minister, Secretary of Health Sindh, District Health Officer Sukkur, and the Medical Superintendent of Civil Hospital<\/strong> to take urgent notice of the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public demands include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Ensuring the immediate availability of essential medicines<\/strong> at the hospital\u2019s medical store.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Launching an inquiry into allegations of artificial shortages<\/strong> created by staff.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Taking departmental action<\/strong> against negligent or corrupt officials responsible for mismanagement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Improving patient care services and ensuring respectful treatment of attendants and patients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    A Larger Health Sector Problem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The crisis at Civil Hospital Sukkur reflects a broader challenge faced by government hospitals across Sindh and Pakistan. Despite significant allocations for health in provincial budgets, patients often complain that free medicines rarely reach them, forcing them to rely on private suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Health analysts argue that until transparent monitoring mechanisms<\/strong> are established, corruption and inefficiency will continue to deprive poor patients of their right to treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The situation at Sukkur Civil Hospital serves as a painful reminder of the gap between government promises and ground realities. For the poor and underprivileged who rely solely on public hospitals, the unavailability of free medicines adds another layer of suffering to their already difficult lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Citizens and patients have made their voices clear: they demand accountability, immediate provision of medicines, and an end to the negligence that has plagued the hospital\u2019s administration. Unless decisive action is taken, the crisis will continue to erode public trust in government healthcare institutions\u2014institutions that were built to serve those who need them the most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Sukkur \u2013 The provision of free medicines at Civil Hospital Sukkur, one of the largest government healthcare facilities in Sindh, has become increasingly difficult, leaving poor patients distressed and helpless. Reports indicate that essential medicines have virtually disappeared from the hospital\u2019s medical store, compelling patients to purchase costly drugs from private pharmacies outside the hospital […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","inline_featured_image":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3859443944190656_798604363342440":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11322,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11320\/revisions\/11322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}