Dengue outbreak: K-P warns of stiff action against KTH management

PESHAWAR: Strong action will be taken against the management of Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) for its failure to handle the dengue outbreak, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s health department assured on Sunday.

In a letter sent to the medical director of KTH’s Medical Teaching Institute (MTI), the health department stated that most dengue cases were reported at KTH, but the hospital administration had failed to share details with the government.

“KTH released details [of the dengue outbreak] on July 22, but they did not bother to inform the government so that it could mount an effective response in affected areas… It is unfortunate that officials concerned came to know through the media, [resulting in a] delayed initial response.”



The health department wondered why no one considered the fact that KTH was entirely funded by the provincial government and also questioned why the health director-general was asked to provide bed nets and more nurses.

According to health department officials, asking for bed nets and nurses was inappropriate.

The appropriate thing to do was securing whatever was required using the hospital’s own resources and seek funds after the crisis was over, they claimed.

The government, it stated, was already provided adequate funding, amounting to billions of rupees.

The department also castigated the hospital administration for "not following up" cases after initial laboratory tests. “KTH has been declaring dengue cases on flimsy initial screening whereas proper backup tests…were not carried out, even on patients who were admitted,” the letter stated.

It also criticised the hospital administration for not providing addresses of infected patients.



The health department urged the hospital administration to clarify these matters and immediately issue clear instructions to its staff. It stated that if this was not done, the health department would approach the competent authority for action “as deemed appropriate to protect public interest”.

Copies of the letter were also sent to the chief minister’s principal secretary, the ministry of health, provincial chief secretary, and the health director-general.