PESHAWAR: The Swat district health department`s request to the provincial government for reconstruction of Manglawar Civil Hospital (MCH) is yet to find receptive ears, as patients in the area continue to suffer. The MCH building was demolished to make way for building the Nawaz Sharif Kidney Hospital (NSKH) in 2013.

Sourcessaidthatthe districthealthofncer, Swat, had been sending requests to the government because over 50,000 residents of the area banked on the civil hospital, which was constructed in mid 60s for their health needs.

They said that at the time of construction of NSKH the local people were assured of getting a general hospital, a promise that still remained unfulfilled.

The MCH has been operating from the patients facilitation centre of NSKH tempo-rarily where it is not possible to provide diagnostic and treatment facilities to the people.

The sources said that most of the machines and equipments had gone into disuse because they couldn`t be installed there.

They said that the district health officer, Swat, had also requested the government to build a new building to house the civil hospital because there was no health facility and the local people had to shift their patients to Mingora even for manageable ailments.

The sources said that Swat had a few hospitals due to which the main load remained on the Saidu Group of Hospitals. They said that Swat needed a district headquarters hospital in view of the growing number of patients.

They said that the provincial government had also asked the DHO to furnish a feasibility report about the reconstruction of Manglawar Civil Hospit al.

They said that the government allotted 32-kanal plot of the civil hospital for 100-bed NSKH, which provided only dialysis and treatment for kidney-related diseases. Theysaid that now the patients needing treatment for other diseases had to travel to cities.

The sources said that the district health office wanted a piece of land from 46 kanals lying unused with NSKH for the hospital to save the patients from hardships. They said that civil hospital had its own staff and equipment which couldn`t be used for benefit of the patients in a small place.

They said that the people visited the 20-bed civil hospital since decades for treatment of general diseases and it had labour room, operation theatre, emergency ward, X-rays and ultrasound, etc.

The sources said that NSKH, which also offered free laparoscopic treatment, was now being run by the provincial government for which it approved 287 posts, half of which had been recruited. The hospital receives about 100 patients daily, the sources said, adding that Swat district health department had also requested the government to construct more hospitals at local level in Kalam and Madyan to facilitate people.Ashfaq Yusufzai