TAKHAR (SW) – The shortage of medicine and limited medical services at Takhar Provincial Hospital has caused challenges for both healthcare providers and patients.
A number of patients seeking treatment at the largest health center in Takhar, the provincial hospital, report grappling with significant economic challenges. Despite their financial hardships, they are compelled to purchase all the necessary medicines for their treatment from external sources.
They ask officials to provide the necessary medicines in this hospital, alleviating the burden on patients who currently have to purchase them externally.
Mohammad Sharif, one of the patients in the provincial hospital of Takhar, says: “I came from the Baghlan district of Khost. I have paid 4,000 Afghanis for a car rental and over 4,000 Afghanis for a prescription of medicine. When they discharge the patient, we must pay another 4,000 Afghanis for the car rental to go back home.”
Muqim, another patient at Takhar Provincial Hospital, also says: “We, five or six people moving around here, are fetching medicine tirelessly since last night. Patients are here. We bring medicine inside the hospital, but we do not know where it is used.”
On the other hand, doctors at the Takhar Provincial Hospital are calling for external institutions to collaborate with Afghanistan in supplying medicine and medical equipment. They express concerns about the shortage of health workers and note issues with timely salary payments.
Abdul-Fattah Sayedzada, an expert at Takhar Provincial Hospital, urges foreign donors and the international community not to abandon the Afghan people in healthcare provision. “Pay attention to the salaries of health personnel and continue to care for the medical needs and some medical equipment in the hospital,” he added.
Doctors at the hospital, however, insist that despite these challenges, they are committed to their obligations to the people and the country.
Meanwhile, officials at the Takhar Provincial Hospital accept a shortage of medication and health workers at the hospital, adding that they have announced 100 positions to complete the staff. While foreign institutions previously supplied the necessary medicines, it is noted that currently, even half of the required medication for the hospital is not being provided.
Mohammad-Asif Mohammadi, director of Takhar provincial hospital, says: “The hospital is facing economic stagnation. There is no medicine. The Red Cross funded this hospital for one and a half to two years, but it has been two months since the assistance has been stopped. In the last six months, no medicine and medical equipment have been purchased.”
“Almost the majority of the medicine does not exist, they buy the medicine. Patients are not satisfied, because we used to give medicine from the hospital, and people were satisfied. Now that they buy the medicine with their own money, most people complain.”
Despite the recent upgrade of Takhar Provincial Specialized Hospital from 150 beds to 200 beds, along with an additional increase to accommodate 50 more beds, the capacity of this hospital to receive and treat patients has increased. The shortage of medicine and other facilities poses difficulties for doctors, patients, and nurses alike.
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