A case of missing Messiahs, 100 posts of doctors vacant in Chitral
Gul Hammad Farooqi
CHITRAL: Chitral hospitals are facing acute shortage of doctors. Around 100 posts of doctors of different categories including specialists and surgeon are vacant in different hospitals (health unites) of the largest district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhuwa province.
According to a statement issued by Executive District Officer Health (EDO) Chitral, Dr. Sher Qayum, there are 5 posts of Basic Pay scale 19, 42 posts of BPS-18 and 86 posts of BPS-17. Currently there there are only 35 doctors against 133 posts as some 10 posts of Doctors were newly created in Chitral by health department. He said that these 100 posts of Doctors of different categories are lying vacant in 3 Tehsil Headquarters Hospitals (THQ), 5 Rural Health Centers (RHC), District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) and other hospitals.
20 Basic Health Units (BHU) have been handed over to Peoples Primary Health Initiative (PPHI), a federal government, which had been kicked off by former president Parvez Musharaf. But only 5 posts of medical officers have been filled up by PPHI and 15 BHUs are without doctors.
He further said that posts of Women Medical Officer, Medical Officers, Eye Specialists, Gynecologists, Anesthetic, Cardiologist, Children Specialists, Chest specialist, ENT Surgeon, Medical Specialist, Nephrologists, Orthopedic Surgeon, Physiotherapists, Psychologist, Radiologist, Dermatologists, Surgical Specialists and Female Dental Surgeon are vacant in these hospitals of Chitral. He said that he has sent demand for filling these posts but posting of doctors are still awaited.
It is worth to mention here that there are 6 seats of Chitral quota in different medical colleges of the province and after 2001 some 60 Doctors have qualified on Chitral domicile but unfortunately these doctors who get admission in medical colleges on the ground of Chitral domicile (special quota) are not willing to be posted at Chitral. As a result people of the entire district are facing great hardships due to acute shortage of doctors. As a result many RHC and BHU are running without doctor.
Social and political circle of Chitral have appealed to the Chief Minister as well as health Minister of KP for filing of the 100 posts and making it mandatory for doctors with Chitral domicile to serve in the district for at least two years.