JHANG has one district, two tehsil headquarters hospitals, 15 rural health centres (RHCs) and 94 basic health units (BHUs) for its population of over three million.

The DHQ hospital is in Jhang while Shorkot and Chiniot each have a THQ hospital. The RHCs are in Garh Maharaja, Ahmadpur Sial, Roda Sultan, Kot Shakir, Bagh, Mochiwala, Bhowana, Ahmadnagar, Lalian, Barana, Shah Jewna, Haveli Sheikh Raju, Chak 14, Mukhiana and Haveli Bahadur Shah.

The population of Jhang, Chiniot and Shorkot tehsils is less than half a million while Bagh, Garh Maharaja, Ahmadpur Sial, Bhowana, Chenab Nagar and Lalian town committees have not more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Women constitute around 50 per cent of the 2.5 million population of rural areas of the district where health facilities have been understaffed since long. All vacancies of surgeons and dentists are lying vacant in the district; most RHCs have one medical officer against the sanctioned strength of two; and 12 RHCs are without a lady doctor. The three RHCs have part-time lady doctors.

Ironically, every lady doctor is reluctant to perform duty in a rural area because what most say “lack of incentives, facilities and security”.

Women of the rural areas prefer unqualified dais to male doctors which results in high mortality rate among mothers and newborns.

A BHU has a medical officer as its in charge and provides outdoor medical facilities to the patients. It has only two-bed indoor facilities.

An RHC, having a 20-bed indoor ward, is supervized by a senior medical officer and assisted by a medical officer, dispensers, midwives and other staff. It also has on its staff a female medical officer and a dental surgeon. It also has an operation theatre, equipped with all necessary instruments and facilities.

An RHC costs between Rs12 and Rs15 million while a BHU between Rs3 and Rs4 million to the national exchequer.

All RHCs have the residences for its staff members within the premises.

The basic idea to set up these centres was to provide health facilities to villagers at their doorsteps and to discourage the exodus of population from rural to urban areas.