Heath and Education are among the basic pillars of a society used to gauge how much a government is concerned about the welfare of the masses and the future of generations which is why most of democracies prioritize these areas by spending a decent amount of their GDPs.
Unfortunately, Pakistan is lacking behind both sectors with meager resources and fast-growing population. Punjab being the most populous province of the country with more than 127.4 million population only has a total of 90 tehsil-level (THQs), 34 district-level (DHQs) and 23 teaching hospitals besides a number of basic health units and dispensaries. Medical experts believe that hospitals across the province are facing a dire shortage of essential medical supplies, staff, and equipment. As a result of this shortage, the healthcare sector is overburdened and compromised as far as the provision of healthcare facilities is concerned.
According to a report published by the Punjab government, “About 542 beds are available for every one million patients at four major medical facilities operating under the provincial administration. Due to the shortage of beds, sometimes two patients are allotted a single bed in the public sector hospitals, as these health facilities are unable to refuse any patient admission who approaches them.”
Dr Tariq Shaheen, an assistant professor at Jinnah Hospital Lahore, about the reason for hospitals being overburdened, he said a large number of patients contact doctors when the first phase of their disease had already passed and the patient’s condition had deteriorated to the extent that they needed treatment for a longer period of time.
