Appointment of specialists doctors in Landikotal AHQ hospital demanded

LANDIKOTAL: Despite the twice announcements of upgegradation made by the two former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governors, 11 specislists doctors and many other health staff couldn't be appointed in the Landikotal Agency Headquarters(AHQ) hospital, local residents and health sources said on Thursday.

The Agency Headquarters hospita(AHQ) Landikotal,built in 1970s by the late Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,has became a place which generate disease rather to provide quality health facilities to the visiting patients.

Patients and staff members in the hospital said that despite the on the record statements by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa former governors they failed  provided basic health faculties and required health staff during their respective tenures.

A health employee in AHQ hospital told this scribe that scarcity of health staff and specialists doctors have increased miseries of the poor patients.He said that many women,children and elderly men have lost their lives as they have no proper staff and medicines in the hospital.Adding that at least twelve mothers have so far died  due to poor health facilities in the hospital labour room.

A well informed source in AHQ hospital said that each one post of general surgeon,cardyalogist,orthopedic specislist,pathologist, anesthesialogist,cardyalogist,rediologist and medical specislist posts were laying vacant since long.He said that million of ruppees health machineries donated by foreign donors wasted in the hospital's stores but it couldn't be brought in the use.

The sources said that 70 per cent of patients are being referred to Peshawar which was a hard task for them to reach to hospitals in Peshawar while travelling on the deteriorated road condition of Pak-Afganhighway.

Local residents lamented that former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governors Barrister Masud Kausar and Engineer Shaokatullah during their separate visits to Landikotal had pledged to fill the vacant doctors posts.They said that the laters made their false promises for the provision of specislists doctors and other health facilities which was a faraway dream for them.

Shams,whose 14-year-old niece few years ago had lost her life in the hospital,said that not only his niece but several other patients have died of the poor health facilities and lack of medicine in the hospital.He said they had also lodged several complaints in the political Agent Khyber office and informed Fata health officials but to no avail.

Another resident,Abdullah Khan accused that lack of the specislists doctors and absenteeism of the on-duty doctors had doubled their miseries.He said  the posting doctors in the AHQ hospital rarely available on their seat running private clinics inside and outside the hospital.He said hundred of poor patients coming from far-flung areas of Landikotal and Afghanistan are compelled to get their treatment in Peshawar.

Abdullah said PA Khyber Sayed Shahab Ali Shah on his last visit also said that he would take up the issue with the governor but he also couldn't materialized his promise.

 Local residents demanded of the KP governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan Abbasi and Fata health directorate to fill the vacant posts in AHQ hospital so that poor patients could get better health care at the hospital.