CHITRAL: A lawmaker from Chitral has resented the exclusion of District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, Lower Chitral, from the allocation of posts of medical officers and consultant specialists despite the fact that 49 posts of doctors out of 120 sanctioned ones are lying vacant here.

The health department recently advertised 115 posts of medical officers and 51 posts of consultant specialists for the DHQ hospitals of various districts on fixed pay basis, excluding Lower Chitral Hospital, which also covered the district of Upper Chitral as well as Afghan nationals.

PTI MNA Abdul Latif told Dawn that he was dismayed over ignoring of Chitral by the health department in allocation of posts to hospitals.

He said topographically,Chitral was the remotest area of the province whose link by road was severed anytime by torrential rains or snowfall making it impossible to shift patients or injured to the tertiary care hospitals.

He said that the DHQ Hospital in Chitral provided both primary and secondary healthcare facilities to 0.7 million people of two districts, while the number of vacantposts ofdoctorsin the primary healthcare facilities was1270ut of157(790utof 100inLowerand490utof57 in Upper Chitral).

As per data gathered from the office of medical superintendent of DHQ Hospital, the sanctioned posts of consultant specialists are 30, out of which, only six were filled, while nine posts of trainee medical officers out of 24 and 36 medical officers out of 54 posts were occupied.

According to the advertisement published in the national press, out of the 115 posts of medical officers, the DHQ Hospital of Upper Dir got 34, Mardan 33, Batkhela 32 and Haripur 16, while in the category of consultant specialists, Batkhela got the largest chunk of 21 posts, Landi Kotal nine, Upper Dir six, Charsadda andMardan four each and Haripur one post.

A source in the DHQ Hospital here told Dawn that by virtue of the vacant positions of doctors since its very inception in 1985, Chitral`s hospital deserved the largest number of the advertised posts of medical officers and specialists, as the health facility surrendered a huge amount of money to the treasuryundertheheadofunused salary budget.

The source said that as per his knowledge, about 90 per cent sanctioned posts of MOs and specialists were occupied in the hospitals, which were chosenforthefreshposts.

He said that the hospitals inLandiKotaland Charsadda were at distance of less than 40 minutes` drive from the tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar, and the Bacha Khan Medical Complex in Mardan was on par with Peshawar hospitals.

The source said that recently about a dozen of the DHQ hospitals were selected under the revamping project, but Chitral`s hospital was neglected.

When contacted, MNA from Chitral Abdul Latif told Dawn that he was dismayedover neglecting of Chitral by the health department in the allocationofposts tohospitals.

He said topographically, Chitral was the remotest area of the province whose link by road was severed anytime by torrential rains or snowfall making it impossible to shift patients or injured to the tertiary care hospitals.

He said that the DHQ Hospital in Chitral provided both primary and secondary healthcare facilities to 0.7 million people of two districts, while the number of vacant posts of doctorsin the primary healthcare facilities was 127 out of 157 (79 out of 100inLowerand490utof57 in Upper Chitral).

MNA Abdul Latif said that the hospital in Chitral neededtobe strengthenedto such a level that it provided the facilities of tertiary care hospital to minimise the referral of patients and the injured to Peshawar hospitals to lowest possible level.

`This act of the health department to utterly neglect my constituency in the revamping and posting of doctors has really shocked me, and I will take this matter with the relevant quarters,` he said.