After more than 60 years of being functional, Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Shabqadar will finally have doctors available in the emergency room for evening and night shifts. The hospital had only been caring for patients in the daytime due to lack of doctors in other shifts.
Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Noor Badshah told The Express Tribune that for the past few years several doctors on THQ Hospital’s payroll have been working in other hospitals across the district. However, after the administration complained to senior officials, three doctors have returned.
“After resuming their duties these doctors have started doing evening and night shifts in the hospital for the first time,” said Dr Badshah, adding laboratory and x-ray services are now being offered in the evening as well.
Power woes
“If the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) assures us of continuous power supply we will be able to offer these services in our night shift too,” he said.
Badshah accused Pesco of supplying uninterrupted power to marble factories but subjecting hospitals to excessive load-shedding. “Since we only have electricity for six to eight hours a day, patients prefer to go to private hospitals,” he said.
The utility company should connect hospitals to the same feeder marble factories are connected to, demanded the MS.
Mentioning another facility that has been made available, Dr Badshah said THQ Hospital’s labour room will also be open throughout the night and a female doctor will be present to facilitate patients.
Staff shortage
Speaking about the lack of staff at the THQ Hospital, Dr Badshah said, “Although it is a tehsil hospital and comes under the provincial government, six doctors are drawing their salaries from Fata. We will be in a position to send them to Fata hospitals once the district health office arranges more doctors for THQ Hospital.”
According to Dr Badshah, Shabqadar hospital has nine posts of specialist doctors and only one of them has been filled, however, Dr Bilal Khattak, the specialist who was appointed a month ago, is yet to report for duty.
The MS added that only half of the posts for nurses have been filled. “Moreover, there are seven male nurses at the hospital, which is not sufficient,” he said.
Located close to the border with Mohmand Agency, THQ Hospital is visited by many people from the tribal area, therefore, the government must ensure that it is equipped with the necessary facilities and sufficient number of staff, said Dr Badshah.
The MS urged the health department to take action against medical staff members who draw salaries but remain absent from work.
More facilities needed
Social worker Zubair Haleemzai welcomed the hospital’s decision to make doctors available for the night shift. Like Dr Badshah, Haleemzai also urged the government to bring THQ Hospital, Shabqadar at par with other tehsil hospitals in the country.
“The government should make modern facilities available at THQ Hospital so that locals are not forced to go to private hospitals and incur high costs,” said Haleemzai.
THQ Hospital, Shabqadar was inaugurated in 1953 as Civil Hospital by the then governor of West Pakistan. In 2012, it was upgraded to a tehsil hospital.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2014.
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