PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has established physiotherapy wards in district headquarters hospitals to reduce the burden of disabilities among the population.

Lack of physical therapy services has increased the quantum of disabilities from curable problems, Dr Mahboobur Rehman, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa coordinator for rehabilitation of disabled persons, told participants of a seminar held to mark the World Disability Day at the Habib Physiotherapy Complex, Hayatabad, on Saturday.

“The KP government has inducted physiotherapists in all district hospitals of the province to provide the rehabilitation facility at the doorstep and minimise physical disabilities because previously there were no such facilities,” he said.

World Disability Day marked

Under the two-year project, costing Rs60 million, physiotherapy services would be provided to those affected by violence, polio and stroke in 20 DHQ hospitals of the province.

Doctors in DHQ hospitals now referred people with pain in joints, paralysis, poliomyelitis and special children to the physiotherapists in the respective districts.

Patients from far-flung areas were becoming permanently disabled due to nonexistence of services.

Dr Rehman said that 20 physiotherapists in BPS-17 had been recruited to make the physiotherapy departments at the DHQ hospitals operational. In some militancy-hit districts, about 50 per cent of the people suffered from minor and major disabilities, he said.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the first province to launch physiotherapy services at the public sector hospitals. He called for the strengthening of rehabilitation services in the province by inducting more physiotherapists and psychologists.

He said that the health, social welfare and education departments, Pakistan Baitul Mal, and BISP should join hands for providing health facilities, education, vocational training and vocational rehabilitation to the disabled in order to empower them.

Khyber Medical University vice-chancellor Prof Hafizullah Khan told the seminar that physiotherapists’ role was vital in early recovery of patients. He said that each and every health unit needed physiotherapists to ensure early rehabilitation and prevention of disabilities.

He emphasised on research in the field of physiotherapy and said that disability could not be prevented if the expertise of physiotherapists was not involved.

Representatives of UNHCR, Paraplegic Centre, social welfare department, special education, Northwest General Hospital and RMI were also present on this occasion.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2016