Crisis management: ‘Power crisis at DHQ DI Khan to be fixed soon’

Gandapur says doctors were lying about performing 16 surgeries in torchlight

DI KHAN: Work is under way on a separate electricity feeder for District Headquarters Hospital DI Khan which will be inaugurated by the beginning of October to end the long-standing load-shedding crisis. This was said by PTI MPA Ali Amin Gandapur while talking to journalists at Circuit House, DI Khan on Sunday.

“I gave funds worth of Rs2.5 million to Water and Power Development Authority in 2013 to arrange a separate electricity feeder [for the hospital],” he said. “However, the work is finally near completion now.”

Gandapur added he contacted Wapda because since 2013 three chief executives of Peshawar Electric Supply Company have changed.

However, he believed the delay was caused by Wapda’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chapter, saying it was creating hurdles in their way.

While speaking about the issue of load-shedding at the hospital due to which doctors had to perform surgeries under the torchlight, the MPA questioned, “As per the initial enquiry the power outage lasted for eight minutes – if so then how did the doctors perform 16 surgeries in such a short time.”



He believed the doctors of DHQ DI Khan were lying to gain popularity. “The enquiry is in its last phase and soon the report will reveal the facts to the public.”

Torchlight surgeries

A few weeks back, news and photos went viral on social media of doctors carrying out surgeries in the light of mobile phone in the operation theatre of DHQ DI Khan.

When the issue was reported, the provincial government took notice and the health director general constituted a team for enquiry.

The chief secretary of the province instructed DI Khan DC Mohtasim Billa to visit the facility and get the electricity matter solved, but the issue remained unresolved.

The medical superintendent of the hospital could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts to contact them.

Weak alternatives

Usually hospitals have two electricity feeders, but DHQ DI Khan has only one. Moreover, even the generator kept as a backup was faulty.

“Not only electricity, hygiene and [availability of] medicines are also issues patients at the facility are faced with,” said Asmatullah, a resident of DI Khan city. “It is a big hospital but is unfortunately ignored by the government.”

Moreover, mismanagement also prevails in the facility. Its medical superintendent, Dr Fazalur Rehman, was outside the country and the hospital matters were being looked by Dr Farid Mehsud, a self-proclaimed medical superintendent, for the last three months.

DHQ DI Khan is situated in the south of DI Khan city. It is a busy facility where people from not only DI Khan are treated, but those from Waziristan also go there. The issues faced by the hospital put a big question mark on the health reforms talked about by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2016.