PESHAWAR: The private clinics of doctors have been receiving lesser patients owing to launch of second shift of the outpatient department (OPD) at the three teaching hospitals of Peshawar, accordingtosources.

`The number of patients has come down due to second shift OPD at Khyber Teaching Hospital early this year. The patients go to the hospital where they get examined on Rs10 OPD slip,` a doctor at Sufaid Dheri village told Dawn.

He said that he charged the patient Rs50 as consultation fee but during the past few months, most of the people went to the nearby KTH.

`The general medical practitioners are the worst affected by the new system at the hospitals,which have deployed specialists in evening OPDs,` he added.

The hospitals have got specilaists exclusively for evening shift as well as accident and emergency departments to benefit patients. KT H receives on average 150 patients in evening, many of whom used to visit private clinics before enforcement of the new mechanism.

The situation in Hayatabad Medical Complex is the same where 100 patients are seen by specialist in evening OPD. `It has badly affected the clinics. With the passing of time, the number of patients is decreasing because of the patients` flow towards HMC, said a physician.

Lady Reading Hospital was the first to start evening OPD in January last year to beneñt patients from the services of consultants.

`About 200 patients are coming in evening due to new timings of the OPD where consultants examine people,` said a senior surgeon at the hospital.

The government enforced Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act, 2015 at teaching hos-pitals to do away with the old system and make the prime health institutions operational roundthe-clock. Prior to enforcement of the new law, the teaching hospitals wore deserted look after 2pm and patients used to be seen by private doctors even for minor allments.

The new arrangements, made by the hospitals, require specialist doctors to sit in OPD from 8am to 4pm. Every ward has a professor, associate professor, assistant professor and senior registrar, who work in OPD.

The new OPD timings have led to decrease ofpatientsinclinics of specialists doctors as people find most common specialties in the eveningshifts at the teachinghospitals.

Patients say they come to staterun hospitals because they pay less but get better services.

`There are qualified doctors in government hospitals while in private sector there are general doctors, who act as consultants,` a resident of Tehl(al locality said.

He said that he brought his father with cardiac problem two days ago and found a cardiologistat KTH. `Investigations are also done by qualified doctors and technicians,` he said.

He said that before launch of evening OPD, they used to visit private clinics where they paid consultation fee besides exorbitant fee for investigations.

He said that beneficiaries of the new system were the poor people, who couldn`t pay high fees of consultancy and investigations.

The presence of specialists in the evening OPD has also benefitted seriously-ill or injured patients, who are brought to the hospitals for emergency treatment.

`Before launch of evening OPD, specialists weren`t available to examine serious patients in the evening. Now ward has the services of consultants, who see patients immediately,` said a medical director at one of the hospitals.

Many doctors running private clinicsinthe surroundingareas of LRH, KTH and HMC confirmed that number of patients was declining owing to launch of evening OPD in the teaching hospitals.