BATKHELA: Residents of Malakand protected area on Wednesday demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to expedite the pace of work on the construction of the district headquarters hospital, Batkhela.

Talking to Dawn here, elders from different areas said that construction work on the hospital, according to the contract, had to be completed till May, 2016. But, the slow pace of work would not meet the deadline. The residents also complained that the hospital lacked staff and other medical facilities.

Meanwhile, sources in the hospital told Dawn that the 408-bed five-storey hospital stretched over an area of 118 kanal of land and would be completed at a cost of Rs531 million.

According to the resident engineer of the consultant company, Wilayat Khan, the hospital would have a mortuary, basement, gynecology, orthopaedic, casualty wards, main laboratory at the ground floor, operation theatre and wards at the first floor.

Dr Iftikhar, the hospital’s medical superintendent, said that the patients would be provided with quality healthcare once the building was constructed. He said position for different sections and wards had been specified due consultation with building experts.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2014