Ambulances await patients in a queue outside a hospital in Lahore. Photo: Express
LAHORE:
In the early hours of a humid morning at the emergency gate of Lahore’s General Hospital, Fareed Hussain stands staring at a rickshaw. Inside, his wife lies curled in pain, having just endured a jolting, dangerous journey from the outskirts of Batapur.
In any other circumstances, she would have arrived in an adequately equipped ambulance, but a 20 per cent surge in petroleum prices fueled by the ongoing war in the Middle East has made a safe ride to the hospital unaffordable for the common citizens. “I called four private ambulance services,” Hussain says, his voice thick with exhaustion. “They all demanded Rs6,000. That is nearly a week’s wages for me. I had to choose between a safe ride and the medicines she needs to stay alive.”
Hussain’s story is not an isolated incident; it is a grim reflection of a burgeoning humanitarian crisis across the province. As the government adjusts fuel prices to meet global market fluctuations, the ripple effect has hit the most vulnerable sector: emergency medical transport.
In other major cities like Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala, private ambulance operators have hiked their fares by 20% to 50%, citing the “inevitable” cost of diesel and maintenance.
For patients requiring inter-city transfers to specialised centres like Mayo Hospital in Lahore, Nishtar Hospital in Multan, or Allied Hospital in Faisalabad, the financial barrier is insurmountable. A trip from Lahore to Sahiwal or Sargodha, which previously cost roughly Rs18,000 rupees, has now skyrocketed to Rs30,000, inflicting a staggering blow to families already suffocating under the weight of inflation.
The crisis is particularly acute for those traveling from rural districts to the provincial capital. Baba Nazir, a labourer from Nankana Sahib, brings his young daughter to Mayo Hospital for regular cancer treatments. “I used to pay Rs10,000. This time, they took Rs13,500,” he shares, clutching a bundle of medical reports. “We are being punished for being sick.”
This sentiment is echoing through the wards of Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi and Civil Hospital in Gujranwala, where an “ambulance mafia” is being accused of exploiting the desperation of grief-stricken families.
As private services become a playground for the wealthy, the burden has shifted entirely to welfare organisations. The Edhi Foundation, a beacon of hope for Pakistan’s underprivileged, has seen a massive spike in calls. Despite the fuel hike, the foundation continues to operate at a subsidised rate of Rs55 per kilometre. However, the sheer volume of requests for patient transfers and the transport of the deceased is stretching their fleet to its limits. A spokesperson noted that while the foundation strives to serve everyone, the gap left by the unaffordable private sector is too wide for any single NGO to fill.
Meanwhile, Punjab Rescue 1122 reports a strange statistical anomaly: while medical emergency calls are rising, road traffic accidents have slightly dipped.
