Afghan refugee

[DSM0305]

Private hospitals lay off staff as flow of Afghan patients drops



PESHAWAR: The private hospitals have started to lay off employees after decrease in number of Afghan patients owing to the border management measures taken by the government, according to sources.
“We cannot maintain more staff now. The number of patients has plummeted to 10 per cent only. We have lost 90 per cent patients, who used to come from different parts of Afghanistan for treatment,” said a senior doctor at a private hospital in Hayatabad.
He said that private health facilities were mostly dependent on Afghan patients and they had to lay off more staffers in the coming months. He said that private hospitals were not receiving patients owing to which they had begun to terminate services of their employees.
“We laid off a few technicians, doctors and Class-IV employees owing to decline in number of patients. We have been requesting the government to allow the Afghan patients for treatment in Pakistan as private health facilities will face closure if the situation remains the same,” said the doctor.
Doctor fears closure of private health facilities if situation remains the same

Another hospital, which faces the same situation, has already sacked nine employees and is likely to phase out its 200 staffers in the near future.
“Since we started operations, number of patients grew day by day for which we hired doctors, paramedics, nurses and support staff to cope with workload but now more than half of employees seem surplus owing decrease in number of Afghan patients,” said a physician.
He said that the staffers also realised the situation and they were applying for jobs somewhere else. Specialised health services were not available in Afghanistan and those patients, who could afford, travelled to Peshawar before enforcement of legal restrictions that benefited private hospitals in Peshawar.
The killing of an army major in July near the border triggered strict security measures. Now those Afghans, who have valid visas, are allowed to enter Pakistan. It affected the private hospitals in Peshawar that thrived on the Afghan patients.
Keeping in view the flourishing businesses of private hospitals, senior doctors have started three big buildings in Hayatabad but the established private sector is showing signs of decline.
“The people, who were kept waited for appointments of some consultants for weeks, can get it on the same day now,” said a doctor, who left his job in a private hospital last week.
He said they operated upon about 40 patients every day in the past.
“Now only 10 patients are operated upon for which two medics are required at the operation theatre. Four technicians of the six will lose jobs,” said the doctor.
The doctors are worried that their hospitals would face colure if the Afghans continue to stay away from Peshawar. They want a legal procedure to permit patients to enter Pakistan.
The past two months were not good for medical practitioners too. Since the start of return of Afghan refugees from the province, clinics also receive fewer patients.
A health worker at a private hospital in Dabgari Gardens said that three of his colleagues were sacked owing to shortage of patients.
“The Afghan refugees have also stopped visiting the government-run facilities and contact private clinics for common diseases,” he added.
Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2016

Private hospitals lay off staff as flow of Afghan patients drops - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

[DSM0305]

The refugee crack down is the best thing that have happened to Afghanistan. Now all the money which was flowing outside Afghanistan, will be keep circulating inside Afghanistan instead. I hope the Pakistani government send all the refugees back to Afghanistan as fast as they can.

[Golden]

Private hospitals are blood suckers of poor Pakistanis. No one will miss them if few get closed down. Hopefully they will lower price with less demand or get closed.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

The economy of Pashtunkhwa and even some parts of Punjab will be affected negatively by this anti Afghan refugee policy of late.

[Samandri]

The refugee crack down is the best thing that have happened to Afghanistan. Now all the money which was flowing outside Afghanistan, will be keep circulating inside Afghanistan instead. I hope the Pakistani government send all the refugees back to Afghanistan as fast as they can.

Yea but hospitals, Doctors and trained staff do not grow on trees......the patients from your country were coming to Pakistan for a reason. I mean there is not even facility there to perform simple surgical procedure like appendicitis

[Samandri]

Afghans here in Peshawar , are getting harassed that's why they are leaving........although its PTI government doing it, but I think its military who has given them signal to harass and humiliate Afghans, so that they are eager to return to their country.

[DSM0305]

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/10/08/rural-hospital-saves-lives-in-northern-afghanistan

In a nearby recovery room for male patients, eight-year-old Shafiullah was sleeping off sedatives given for an emergency appendectomy by Dr. Zaheer Saber. Shafiullah’s mother brought him from a distant village when he came home from school with fever, nausea, and sore stomach, Saber says.

This is in a rural area of northern Afghanistan in 2013. I can guarantee you that facilities and doctors of cities is far more advanced than people give them credit for.

One little kid from my family fell down from third floor down to second floor while playing. His leg was completely broke and he had a serious injury in the skull. In emergency they rushed him to a nearby hospital in Kabul. Today he is completely fine and healed. We're talking about a dying kid here.

Because of the war in Afghanistan, being a doctor/surgeon in Afghanistan have become like their nature. Every day they're dealing with severe injuries like missing limps and injuries from a gun battle, which requires immediate procedures. They have gained experience in the medical field, that cannot be gained anywhere else.

The problem in Afghanistan isn't the lack of expertise, but rather stupidity from the Afghan people themselves. Afghans have an incredibly stupid mentality. They think everything from Afghanistan or is Afghan made is bad, and those buying it will be called cheap.
If Afghan made shoes are in better quality and looks extremely good, even then a poorly made Turkish shoes will be considered superior. This is the reason why Afghans even for the simplest thing will travel to Pakistan to buy it. Because according to Afghans; anything foreign is better. Even if one can find the exact same thing in Afghanistan or even better, the foreign thing will still be considered better.

This is why from visiting a hospital to buying a dress, Afghans have traveled to Pakistan. This have ruined the Afghan economy and flourished the Pakistani economy.
When the Americans were still in Afghanistan, the Afghan people made businesses, shops, translating ets. This created many jobs in Afghanistan, but the problem was that the Afghans brought stuff from Pakistan, making Afghans Pakistani consumers. Even then it didn't bother Afghans, because they still had their jobs.
Now that the Americans have left, the jobs went along with them, but the problem is that the consumption is still in Pakistan. Meaning that Afghans no longer have the jobs, but they still buy stuff from Pakistan. Creating this jobless mess in Afghanistan.
But if the Pakistani market getting more restricted. It will force Afghans to create a consumer market inside Afghanistan. Making the Afghan money circulate inside Afghanistan, creating jobs inside Afghanistan instead.
I was in Afghanistan very recently, and one beggar was selling gums. I felt sorry for him and brought some. I was curious and read where it was created, and guess what; it was Pakistan, Karachi. Imagine even stuff from beggars are from Pakistan, despite having cheaper and better Afghan made stuff inside Afghanistan... but the stupid Afghan mentality is forcing them to buy stuff which are foreign made.

In Kabul in a shop, back when Pakistan and Afghanistan had a cricket match. There was an Afghan who lived in Pakistan. Guess who he was cheering for... you guessed it, Pakistan... When asked why he was cheering for Pakistan, he said, because he was used to cheer for Pakistan...

Another severe problem. Afghans who live in Pakistan have homes in Afghanistan, which they have rented. Meaning they get money from the rented house in Afghanistan, but since they live in Pakistan. The money get used in Pakistan... So basically the money literally flows from Afghanistan inside Pakistan...

This crackdown on Afghans will solve several problems inside Afghanistan. I hope Pakistanis get more sincere in this crackdown, so Afghans go back to Afghanistan. Also I hope they somehow find a way to send Afghans who got their CNIC or whatever it is called back as well. Perhaps then they will get their Afghaniyat back. Also I hope the travel between Pakistan and Afghanistan get more restricted, so travel can be done only if it is necessary.

[Golden]

Money isn't made out of thin air, there is a reason afghans use Pak currency without exchaning in Afghanistan. Millions work in Pakistan and get to spend in it, the horror! Also many send money back and people there use it like official currency.

But said all this afghan brothers are always welcome to spend money in private hospitals and shops by getting tourist visas in near future once they go back and settle in Kabul.