LARKANA: Both angiography machines kept at NICVD, Larkana Unit, are out of order since last over 15 days due to which angioplasty of heart patients has been stopped, credible sources told PPI.
All the affected patients are either referred to Sukkur, Khairpur, Gambat or Karachi and are taken through an ambulance which too is only one. Approximately eight to 10 patients daily require angiography and heart-attack emergency patients are referred to other units which has brought miseries to the poor affected patients who cannot afford costly treatment, according to the sources
Cardiac patients of Balochistan are also brought here besides patients of entire five districts of Larkana Division who too have been deprived of this essential life-saving facility. The credible sources said that due to dispute between the federal and the Sindh government over ownership of NICVD and other federal government hospitals all other units are suffering for no fault of the poverty-stricken ailing people whose lives have been put on high risk by this dispute and nobody takes the pains to resolve it quickly.
The attendants of the patients Abdul Hameed Memon, Moeed Kamario, Rashid Shaikh and others said that their patients were being denied treatment at this Center on the pretext of dysfunctional angiography machines. They said since last 15 days, their needy loved ones were denied angiography test which had forced them to suffer. They said they had no resources to shift their poor patients to Karachi, Hyderabad or elsewhere to save their precious lives. The affectees said this NICVD had only one ambulance which could not cater to the needs of large number of cardiac patients because at a time, ambulance could shift only one patient, whereas patients of Balochistan and five districts of Larkana division were also brought here for treatment. They said other patients keeped on waiting till the ambulance returned or they had to hire private ambulances.
NICVD Incharge Dr. Fayaz Ahmed told reporters here on Wednesday that angiography machine was not out of order and old machine, which was working in old building had also been shifted to new building due to which machine had been temporarily closed for installation of software, adding installation of software took one week time, but it would be operated within this week.
Larkana’s social worker and comedy artist Shoaib Baban Memon, having cardiac problem, was referred to Sukkur where his friends and co-artists met him and inquired about his health. Ali Wasi Shaikh, Saeed, Liaquat and others told media persons that Memon had been shifted to Sukkur despite availability of same facility in Larkana.
They said that it was irony that people of Larkana were now going to Sukkur for getting heart-ailments’ treatment despite availability of same facility in Larkana but government had no funds to get repaired essential diagnostic machines which was, they added, very unfortunate. Cardiac patients have demanded of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to take immediate notice of the issue and fulfill much advertised in the past vision of his slain mother Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto of giving top priority to health and education sectors which are now most neglected.