Three Kohistan districts left without healthcare

PDA demands end to public-private partnership after repeated closure of DHQ Hospital in Dasu

PESHWAR:

Complaints have been raised about the repeated closure of the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Dasu Upper Kohistan, the only district hospital serving the entire population of three districts of Kohistan.

The hospital is facing a severe shortage of staff, prompting the Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) to call on the government to take notice of the situation and take practical steps to improve it.

The association told The Express Tribune that the hospital was being managed under a public-private partnership but that the responsible Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) had completely failed to run it effectively without inviting any attention from the quarters concerned.

It said the hospital is repeatedly shut down with a lack of funds cited as the reason and that, even when funds were provided, employees remained unpaid for months.

PDA President Dr Amir Taj stated that, despite receiving funds, the NGO was hiring new staff to run the hospital instead of paying the dues of existing employees.

He emphasized that the practice was unacceptable and demanded that all outstanding dues to employees be paid first and that the relevant District Health Officer (DHO) verify the appointment of specialist doctors and other healthcare staff in all departments as per the agreement.

He also stated that all salaries should be transferred directly to employees' bank accounts through cross-cheques to ensure transparency.

Moreover, he criticised the public-private partnership model in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), declaring it a complete failure.

He called on the provincial government, the health advisor, and health department officials to rescind the management of the hospital from private contractors (project operators) and return it to government control. He argued that deploying government staff would at least ensure the timely availability of personnel in the region's only DHQ hospital, thereby providing much-needed healthcare services to the residents of the three districts.

Last week, it may be recalled, Health Advisor Ihtesham Ali, while addressing the third District Health Officers (DHO) Conference, had emphasized the need for improved performance and warned underperforming DHOs to improve or face the consequences.

He had stated that DHOs who delayed releasing funds to public-private partnership hospitals would be held accountable and removed from their positions if necessary.

The advisor had also announced a strict ban on cross-cadre postings to ensure that relevant positions were filled by professionals from the appropriate cadre.

Acknowledging exemplary performance, he had awarded appreciation certificates to the DHOs of Malakand, Kohat and Khyber for their outstanding contribution.

Additionally, he had urged the immediate utilization of funds lying idle in Primary Care Management Committees (PCMCs) to provide relief to the public.

The conference was attended by Secretary Health Adeel Shah, Special Secretary Health Habibullah, Director General Health Dr Muhammad Saleem, Chief of the Health Sector Reforms Unit (HSRU), Regional Directors, Program Directors, and all DHOs.