PESHAWAR: Health facilities in 11 districts of the Frontier province – affected by the military operation against militants and arrival of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) – have been found short of doctors, nurses, health workers, medicines as well as equipments.

According to sources, most of the patients in these districts were being transported to tertiary care hospitals or private clinics even for minor ailments.

The worst victims of deficiencies in the health outlets are pregnant mothers and their children, who do not have the needed facilities due to which they were either mistreated at local level or shifted to Peshawar.

However, majority of the patients suffer due to non-availability of specialties and sub-specialties such as neurosurgeons, cardiovascular surgeons, paediatricians, psychiatrists, orthopaedic surgeons and gynaecologists in the hospitals, the added.

A survey, carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the health department, had also shown gaps and weaknesses in terms of staff and logistics and recommended immediate measures to put in place facilities and facilitate patients in villages and towns.

In many of the health outlets, staff existed to carry out investigations and other surgical procedures, but the patients could not be attended due to lack of necessary instruments and facilities. In this connection, the provincial government has requested the WHO to strengthen these facilities in the districts to provide better health services to the people.

The WHO survey has pinpointed weaknesses in the health outlets and suggested measures to turn them into patients-friendly institutes and provide medicare to people, the sources added.

‘For this purpose, a survey has been conducted in 11 districts of the province with a view to fill up the gaps and make the health outlets well-staffed and well-equipped,’ a source said, adding that initially the plan was made for the conflict-hit districts, including Swat, Buner, Upper and Lower Dir, Shangla and Malakand but later Mardan, Swabi, Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera were also included in it as these districts had played vital role in provision of health facilities to millions of the IDPs from Malakand region.

For this purpose, an assessment of the basic health units, rural health centres, civil hospitals, tehsil and district headquarters hospitals had been carried out. Health department officials said that prior to the assessment of the health facilities, a 27-page comprehensive health plan had been prepared which had indicated certain problems being faced by the health institutions in these districts.

Officials said that the government had requested the WHO soon after the end of the Malakand operation that primary and district level health facilities were short of equipments, machines, vehicles, staff and medicines due to which patients were facing problems.

‘A proper referral system is also being developed in these districts so that patients could be sent to secondary level health facilities from the primary level health outlets and prevent avoidable medical complications,’ the source said, adding that the world health agency would initially provide 22 ambulances, two each to each of the 11 districts to transport the patients from the local health centres to the district headquarters hospitals for necessary treatment.