PESHAWAR, Aug 3: The Pakistan Medical Association, NWFP chapter, has urged the government to improve healthcare facilities at the public-sector hospitals, said a press release on Sunday.

NWFP PMA chief Dr Haroon Khan said the government was not paying attention to providing better health facilities to the people, and was taking cosmetic steps only.

He said the government’s announcement that 400 doctors will be appointed on a contract basis would benefit only those who were attached with a particular association of doctors. The talented doctors would be deprived of the opportunity to get jobs, he claimed.

He asked the government to make these appointments through the Public Service Commission, and regularize the services of doctors already working on a contract basis.

Dr Khan also expressed concern over the pathetic condition of rural health centres and basic health units, and asked the government to provide funds to these outlets so that they could serve the poor in a better way.

The PMA chief ridiculed the government for launching anti-Hepatitis campaign in the province, saying the government itself was responsible for the spread of the disease as there were no arrangements for sterilization at the operation theatres and dental units at the public sector hospitals that caused the infectious disease to spread.

Instead of launching the campaign, the government had better provided anti-Hepatitis vaccines free of cost to save the people from falling a prey to the ailment. Similarly, every person should be tested for Hepatitis, because the people could not afford the expenses of the tests, he said.

X-ray films: Non-availability of the X-ray films at the radiology department of the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) has been causing problems for the patients, doctors told Dawn on Saturday.

“We have not looked after the patients needing the X-rays for the last three days because of absence of the films,” said a radiologist.  

According to him, doctors had continuously been requesting the hospital administration to make arrangements for the films, but to no avail.

Some 250 patients had been visiting the radiology department of the KTH in order to have their X-rays of different organs done on a daily basis; but the worst sufferers are the critically ill patients, he added.

The patients were forced to have their tests done from outside, results of which were not up to required standard, he said.

The deputy medical superintendent of the KTH told Dawn that the contractor had stopped supplying films, because the hospital had not paid him for quite some time.

However, he said, the supply would be restored on Saturday, as the outstanding bills of the contractor had been cleared by the hospital.