Security dynamic: Steps demanded to ensure security of doctors at hostels

Forum requests judicial enquiry into murder of trainee medical officer

ABBOTTABAD: The provincial government has been urged to take steps to ensure security to all doctors living in private hostels of Abbottabad and relocate them to hostels at Ayub Teaching Hospital.

The request has been put forward by Peoples Doctor Forum (PDF). Representatives from the forum expressed these views while speaking to journalists on Sunday.

PDF Spokesperson Dr Daud Iqbal said over 250 doctors are living in the medical officers and family hostels of ATH, whereas over 150 doctors were living in private hostels in the city.  He added the ATH administration obtained three private hostels on rent outside the hospital. These include Musharraf Hostel which has a capacity of 100, Lalazar Hostel – which has between 30 to 40 doctors – and Jadoon Boys Hostel – with 16 rooms for 32 doctors.

According to Iqbal, Lalazar Hostel was vacated after a cylinder blast a few months back. Meanwhile, around 120 doctors were still residing in the other two hostels.

Dearth of planning

The PDF spokesperson said the lodgings of doctors outside the hospital have exposed them to security risk and inflicted losses worth millions of rupees to the hospital’s exchequer.



Iqbal added the dearth of planning by the administration was causing losses of between Rs12 million and Rs15 million to ATH every year even though the hospital has enough space to construct hostels for doctors.  He pressed the hospital administration to make necessary arrangements to construct hostel for those doctors who were living in private hostels amid constant fear of life and property loss.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2016.