Karachi: South City Hospital, one of Karachi’s leading hospitals located in Clifton prohibits attendants and visitors from bringing food purchased from outside the hospital into the premises.
According to attendants that have experienced or witnessed this act, guards on duty outside and within the hospital force people to leave food and beverages purchased from anywhere except the Hospital’s own facility. This way, the Hospital forces all attendants to use the Hospital’s own cafeteria which reportedly charges more quite high. This blatant act of extortion not only causes inconvenience to the visitors, but is also seen by many as a means of profit-making by the Hospital’s authorities.
Well known, better established medical institutions such as the Aga Khan University Hospital, Liaquat National Hospital, Ziauddin Hospital and the National Medical Center, all permit visitors to bring edible items purchased from outside the hospital premises for patients that they may be visiting. Why South City, a private hospital, chooses to remain exclusive in this regard remains unknown.
Guard at South City Hospital stopping visitors to bring outside food and beverages.
‘Forcing attendants and visitors shop and dine at the Hospital’s own cafeteria is an unfair, unjustifiable rule. All items are more expensive compared to the same ones available outside explains one visitor that wishes to remain anonymous.
It is a fact that people only visit hospitals in their time of dire need; imposing bogus rules when they attempt to bring food and beverages for attendants and patients, in turn forcing them to spend more money within the premises amounts to forced spending which is not desirable or justifiable in any way.