CHITRAL: The residents of Upper Chitral district have expressed concern over the shortage of doctors in the region`s hospitals, where out of 57 sanctioned posts of medical officers, only eight are filled.

Also, there is not a single lady doctor available in any government hospital, including the Category-D Hospital of the district.

PPP senior leader Amirullah Khan told reporters here on Friday that the healthcare system of the public sector was in tatters in the newly-created district, where the District Headquarters Hospital was yet to be established. He said that the Category-D Hospital in the District Headquarters, Booni, was facing shortage of doctors, including a woman doctor.

Mr Khan said that the primary healthcare centres in the villages were also worst hit by shortage of doctors and diagnostic facilities,as a result of which pressure on the Category-D Hospital in Booni had been increased. He said majority of patients were referred to the DHQ Hospital in Lower Chitral.

The PPP leader regretted that 100 per cent gynaecology patients had no option other than go to the DHQ Hospital in Lower Chitral or to private hospitals at high expense.

When contacted, district health officer Dr Farman Wali told Dawn that there had been no lady doctor posted in any hospital of the district for last one year, including theCategory-D Hospital in Booni.

He said that non-availability of woman doctor was a big issue as postmortem of women in cases of suicides or accidents was done at the DHQ Hospital in Lower Chitral.

Mr Khan said that he had taken up the issue with the authorities concerned time and again, but to no avail.