Sher Gul Gets a New Lease on Life

AKU’s Patient Welfare Programme to the Rescue

A sense of numbing dread slowly pervaded Sher Gul as he stepped out of the doctor’s office after learning he was suffering from a brain tumour. A multitude of challenges faced him as the twenty-two-year-old walked slowly back to his house from the hospital. How will he break the news to his family? Will they be able to afford any kind of treatment for him? He thought of his father’s sudden unemployment after having worked as a loader in a factory, his own meagre income of Rs 2,500 per month from working at a local tea stall and his two brothers who earned Rs 3,000 together. Suddenly, he could feel a pall of gloom settling over him, blocking his vision of the future.

The mention of brain tumour sounds like a death sentence to many in Pakistan. Even though the disease is curable if diagnosed early, the cost of treatment is high and out of reach for people with limited financial resources. When Sher Gul’s family heard of his illness, they were devastated by their inability to provide the necessary finances for their beloved son’s treatment. It was under such desperate circumstances that Sher Gul was admitted to a hospital which did not have the facilities to provide the specialised treatment required for his case. As his condition worsened, the hospital referred him to AKUH.

Patient Welfare Programme has helped over 225,000 patients so far.

 

At first Sher Gul’s family was apprehensive about the cost of treatment but then they learnt about the Patient Welfare Programme. Sher Gul’s initial estimated cost of treatment for four days at the time of admission was Rs 75,000. However, Sher Gul’s tumour caused severe and multiple complications for which he underwent a ten-hour complex surgery. The treatment and extended stay at the hospital increased the original estimate to Rs. 392,618, which was beyond the family’s means.

The Patient Welfare Programme increased its support and provided Rs 236,841 for Sher Gul which came to 60 per cent of the total cost of his treatment. Sher Gul’s family was also assisted by private philanthropists who came forward with the rest of the amount. Soon a fully recovered Sher Gul was discharged from the Hospital.

AKUH’s Patient Welfare Programme began twenty years ago with its basic principle being scarce financial resources would not limit any patient’s access to quality health care.

Over the years, the Patient Welfare Programme has disbursed Rs. 1.22 billion to over 225,000 patients and this figure is continuously on the rise.