A Night Spent at a Government Hospital in Pakistan
Recently, I had the chance to spend a night at a government hospital. While the treatment there was quite good, I observed some painful realities that I feel must be shared.
The problems begin right at the hospital gate — with parking. The staff in the parking area behave like local bullies. It seems like only aggressive or rude people get hired for this job. A simple, honest person could never work there. Although it is a government hospital, the parking charges are very high — Rs. 20 during the day and Rs. 100 at night.
Then comes the canteen. Everything is much more expensive than it is outside. The only reason given is that the canteen is inside the hospital. But people don't come here for fun or a picnic — they come out of necessity. Sadly, these necessities are being used to make money from poor patients and their families.
It feels like some staff at government hospitals have one goal: to force patients to go to private hospitals. Either the treatment is private, or there are so many patients that the hospital says they can’t treat more. On top of that, patients are often told, “Get private treatment within 24 hours or anything could happen.” This is the biggest threat of all.
Yes, sometimes action is taken against such behavior — but it often feels like a movie scene, not real change.
