KOHAT: Despite availability of funds the relevant authorities have failed to meet longstanding demand of the people to set up a burns centre, provide CT scan and MRI facility and appoint doctors at the KDA teaching hospital here.

It may be recalled that the federal government had released Rs16.5 million for the burns unit, and the district development committee headed by the district coordination officer had also approved construction of the facility, but work on the project have yet to start for unknown reasons. The funds were released on the request of former MNA Khursheed Begum.

An official of the health department on condition of anonymity told Dawn that in the first place the successive provincial governments opposed construction of the KDA divisional headquarters hospital on the pretext that Peshawar was situated at a small distance thus there was no need for such a facility and would be a waste of funds. That was why the hospital was made operational in 2000, six years after its construction in 1994 because the government didn’t provide the required funds for its running and appointment of doctors.

The official said that the government was of the view that nowhere in the province two big hospitals existed in the same district and that they had no funds to cater to the needs of the twin hospitals in Kohat.

It is important to note that during the rule of Gen retired Pervez Musharraf, the then provincial governor Lt-Gen retired Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah had directed that all basic health units be converted into hospitals to provide people quality treatment at their doorstep.

Due to absence of specialised facilities in the KDA hospital the doctors here referred patients to Peshawar.

The official claimed that the senior doctors appointed to the facility were either serving in Peshawar or doing roaring business at private clinics. He added that doctors even refused huge salaries to be transferred to Kohat, and that the government was helpless against them.

It may be recalled that in the last ANP government former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti had given the status of teaching hospital to KDA hospital on the demand of students during his visit of Kohat, but his orders were also not executed.

It is reported that people have to hire private ambulances at Rs12,000 in case of the tribal areas and Rs7,000 and Rs4,000 from Hangu and Kohat districts to go to Peshawar for treatment, as the KDA hospital has no ambulance facility.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2015

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