HARIPUR, Dec 29: The fate of funds earmarked for the under construction District Headquarters hospital under the Structural Adjustment Credit Programme of World Bank hangs in balance as the provincial health department failed to utilize the amount in the stipulated time, official sources told Dawn.

The 210-bed DHQ hospital project had been launched in 1995 which was to be completed in three phases by 2003. However, the project was delayed for eight years and its first phase comprising OPD, Casualty, pathology, X-ray, ICU and medicines departments was completed at a cost of Rs60 million in 2003 instead of 1998. The administration block, four operation theaters, medical, surgical, gyaene, ENT and eye wards, labour room, nursing hostel, doctors’ hostel and MS residence were to be completed in the last two phases.

During 2003, sources said, the provincial government had decided to complete the facility in one go and approved PC-1 of the remaining portion of the hospital earmarking Rs110 m for construction buildings, Rs35 m for purchase of equipments and Rs150 million for staff salary.

The staff’s salary, according to agreement, was to be disbursed from the WB funds from 2003 to December 2005.

The provincial health department asked the district government and district based health authorities to ensure purchase of equipments and hiring of technical, non-technical staff without any further delay as according to official sources the district had to spend these funds before 2005 or would surrender leaving the project incomplete if it failed to make the project operational.

The district health department initially employed 30 nurses for the new hospital from the same head and secured the release of Rs1.8 million for salaries out of a total Rs150 million.

The new DHQ, according to sources, had a sanctioned strength of 218 employees including technical staff while in the non-technical category it could be provided with 151 employees in different grades and cadres.

So far, they said, Rs50 million had been released from the construction head out of a total of Rs110 and Rs4 million had been spent out of the total allocation for new staff. The remaining funds remained unspent, they said. The health authorities have also failed to purchase equipment for the new facility.

The provincial government had again revised the construction cost of the building during September 2005 from Rs112.03 million to Rs199.885 million, which further delayed the project.

Contractors have also reportedly suspended their work owing to a delay in clearing their outstanding bills.

It is believed that if the SNE for doctors and other staff had been approved and the required strength of doctors and their support staff had been hired, the first phase of new facility would have by now become operational.

Chief Minister of the NWFP Akram Khan Durrani had inaugurated the facility during May 2003 and ordered to make it operational but local health authorities had succumbed to the pressure of certain interest groups and failed to run the facility, despite the fact that its first phase was almost ready. Local residents called for immediate action against officials who delayed the DHQ project’s completion and demanded the provincial government’s intervention for the hospital building’s completion and its early operation.

They said in the absence of a fully-capable health facility in their area, they had to take seriously ill patients to other cities, adding some times patients’ condition was too fragile for such journeys.

They also said that the funds allocated for hiring of staff and other purpose under WB SAC program should not be surrendered.