JHANG: A health facility in the neighbourhood of Nobel laureate Dr Abdul Salam has yet to start first aid and surgical services and evening and night shifts despite having 35 staffers and a wellequipped operating theatre, Dawn has learnt.

The hospital is in the old city of Jhang where Dr Salam was born. His native house is in front of the hospital.

The Government City Hospital has three male doctors, two female doctors, eight nurses besides 22 dispensers, paramedics and nurses. The staff does not provide even first aid to the people of the surrounding low income residential localities of the old city.

Sources say Dr Salam had taken specialinterest in the establishment of the hospital and remained in touch with the authorities of the Punjab government.

In the beginning, the hospital was a section of the Jhang District Headquarters Hospital.

Former chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in his tenure upgraded the hospital as a rural health centre.

The Pervaiz Elahi government provided doctors,nurses, paramedics, other required staff besides a building for the hospital and a doctors` colony.

The staff was meant for morning, evening and night shifts, but the hospital would only serve the patients in the morning shift.

The Punjab Health Department started an inquiry into hospital`s lack of the services but it ended in vain.

Again, the health higher authorities took notice of non-functional evening and night shifts and lack of emergency and surgical services a couple of weel(s ago. This time, the hospital in charge demanded more staff and facilities for the hospital.

Executive District Officer of Health Dr Zafar Abbas Khan said the government would appoint two male and as many women doctors at the hospital on the recommendations of the hospital in charge.

When asked why the staff continued in the hospital for years for no work, he said transfer and posting of doctors in the district were handled by the health secretary and the district coordination officer.

People of the area demanded Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif take notice of the situation.