Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Pak: Acute shortage of anaesthetics in Lahore, hundreds of surgeries postponed

The government imposed heavy taxes on the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and other raw materials which has led to a spike in production costs.

Pak: Acute shortage of anaesthetics in Lahore, hundreds of surgeries postponed

With the economy shrinking and rising inflation in Pakistan, there is an acute shortage of anaesthetics in Lahore, and as a result, hundreds of surgeries have been postponed putting the lives of numerous critical patients at risk.

A shortage of anaesthetics in public and private hospitals has emerged allegedly due to the gross incompetence and negligence of the health authorities concerned, the Dawn newspaper reported. A senior official has said that not only the Services Hospital Lahore is facing an acute shortage of the Ine drugsoflura, but all major government sector hospitals are trying hard to procure the drug.


The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Isoflurane drug for inducing and maintenance of general anaesthesia.

This comes after the vendors stopped official supplies of the drug because of the depreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar, he said.

The official added that the suppliers have denied providing more drug consignments at the price that was decided while signing the contracts with the government, local media reported.

Ali Jan, the health secretary of Pakistan, did not make the issue public and asked the heads of the institutes to arrange the drug on their own.

The Services Hospital Lahore purchased 20 vials (units) of the drug from a private hospital to perform surgeries on critical patients at the A and E, orthopaedic, neurology, paediatric and other units of the hospital, the official said.

The official added that a request for 1,000 drug vials was submitted to the private hospital, however, the institute did not provide the drug in such a large quantity.

There is a short supply of the drug in the market, he said citing the administration of the private health facility adding that they have stocks only to meet their own needs.

The official added that the situation is similar in the Mayo Hospital, Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, and Shaikh Zayed Hospital in Lahore, local media reported.

Health department authorities have said that the authorities have provided the anaesthesia drug to a teaching hospital, and efforts are underway to address the shortage of the drug.

Earlier, The News International publication reported around 60 essential medicines, including suicide-prevention drugs, have vanished from the market due to the increase in the cost of production.

The government imposed heavy taxes on active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and other raw materials which have led to a spike in production costs.

Hundreds of patients are suffering due to a shortage of important medicines as particular brands are not available in the market.

The publication revealed that several important medicines for the treatment of TB, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, depression, cardiovascular disease and others were not available as pharmaceutical companies were not manufacturing them due to the high cost of production.

Qazi Mansoor Dilawar, the Chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association (PPMA), said that unless the prices of the medicines are increased by 30 to 40 per cent by the government or prices of medicines are deregulated, the unavailability of medicines would continue and feared that more companies could stop manufacturing several more medicines in the days to come.

(ANI)

More For You

Axiom Mission 4

(From left) Axiom Mission 4 Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Commander Peggy Whitson, and Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski wave from inside the Space Dragon spacecraft. (Photo: NASA)

NASA

India’s Shubhanshu Shukla and 3 others dock at ISS after 28-hour journey

INDIA’s Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts entered the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday after a 28-hour journey aboard the Dragon spacecraft. The crew received warm hugs and handshakes upon arrival as the capsule docked with the orbital laboratory.

The spacecraft, named Grace and fifth in the Dragon series, made a soft capture with the ISS’s Harmony module at 4:01 pm IST while flying over the North Atlantic Ocean. Full docking procedures, including power links and pressure checks, took about two more hours to complete.

Keep ReadingShow less
Parliament celebrates 90th birthday of Bestway's Sir Anwar Pervez

Sir Anwar Pervez with his family

Parliament celebrates 90th birthday of Bestway's Sir Anwar Pervez

CURRENT and former MPs from all parties gathered at the House of Commons to celebrate the 90th birthday of Sir Anwar Pervez, the founder of retailer Bestway Group.

The event took place in the Churchill Room and was hosted by Lord Choudrey. Guests included former Lord chancellor Sir Brandon Lewis, former ministers Tom Tugendhat and Lord Maude, and MPs from Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, according to a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK living standards 'to stagnate through 2030'

FILE PHOTO: People walk over London Bridge during morning rush hour in London. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

UK living standards 'to stagnate through 2030'

LIVING standards in Britain look set to barely grow over the rest of the decade and poorer households are likely to suffer a drop, in part due to a welfare squeeze, according to a report published by a thinktank on Thursday (26).

Median household incomes after taxes, benefits including pensions and housing costs are on course to rise by a total of just one per cent more than inflation by the 2029/30 fiscal year, the Resolution Foundation said. Lower-income families are expected to see a one per cent fall.

Keep ReadingShow less
Cardiff landlord fined £64,000 for illegal property conversion

A part of the incomplete sprinkler system in the building (Photo: Cardiff council)

Cardiff landlord fined £64,000 for illegal property conversion

A CARDIFF landlord has been ordered to pay £64,000 after illegally converting a Victorian property into dangerous flats with poor fire safety measures.

Mohammed Abdul Kowsor Choudhury from Cyncoed and his company Pine Best Ltd appeared at Cardiff Magistrates' Court last week, where they were fined £54,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 in costs, reported Wales Online.

Keep ReadingShow less
Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris said that the event had been 'immediately cancelled' by its staff after the identification of significant irregularities'. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

UK man charged in France over staged Disneyland 'marriage' with child

A BRITISH man has been charged in France with offences including money laundering and identity theft after allegedly organising a staged wedding ceremony at Disneyland Paris, where he acted as the groom and a nine-year-old girl played the bride, French prosecutors said on Tuesday.

He is suspected of renting the park before its public opening on Saturday for the private event, under a contract valued at 130,000 euros.

Keep ReadingShow less