Government’s negligence: Absence of DHQ hospital irk Rahim Yar Khan residents

RAHIM YAR KHAN: The densely-populated city of Rahim Yar Khan is in dire straits due to the absence of a district headquarters hospital. Over six million people in Rahim Yar Khan, including civil servants, remain deprived of a major health facility thanks to the reported negligence of the government.

Officials tells Express News that the foundation stone for the Civil Hospital was laid down by then state minister Dr Mehmood Hassan on December 20, 1950. The hospital was opened to the public in 1953. Years later, the hospital saw an expansion plan, according to which, new phases were planned for the health facility.

The transformation led to the addition of 700 beds with the new facility named as Sheikh Zayed Hospital. The hospital added gynae, ENT, medical, surgical, neuro, ortho and urology wards in addition to emergency units.



In 1995, however, Civil Hospital was merged with the newly-established Sheikh Zayed Medical College and authorities decided to upgrade the facility to a District Headquarters Hospital. The authorities also decided to relocate the site for the medical facility, but failed to fulfill the commitment. Even after 23 years, the city remains devoid of a dedicated DHQ hospital.

Consequently, Sheikh Zayed Hospital has to tackle an overload of patients and face the challenge with a dearth of resources. Over 8,000 patients rely on the hospital for all medical treatment, emergencies and outpatient departments.  The hospital also serves as a facility for patients hailing from eight different districts belonging to Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan.

In view of the situation, local residents have demanded that the government and district administration set up a dedicated DHQ hospital, which is the need of the hour.

They say that establishing a public health facility has become compulsory due to the lack of health and medical facilities in the area. They lament the fact that locals have been subject to government negligence for years.



Civil and social organisations have started a fresh campaign for the cause and urge the MPAs and MNAs, sitting in the provincial and federal governments, to address the issue at the earliest.

Meanwhile, when contacted, government officials told Express News that a proposal to establish the DHQ hospital has been sent to the Punjab chief secretary for approval. However, they did not give a specific timeframe as to when it will be finalised.

Even opposition in the Punjab Assembly has demanded the construction more hospitals in the province, claiming no medical facility has been set up in the past 25 years. It adds that existing hospitals lack the capacity to accommodate the increasing number of patients.

In a resolution submitted on November 17, 2017, opposition members stated that the health sector has been suffering huge problems. They say that population has greatly surged and is affected by the lack of health institutes. The MPAs mentioned that existing hospitals lack equipment and space to cater to the needs of the growing population.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2018.