KOHAT: Local political and social activists have urged the MPAs, provincial law minister and MNA from Kohat to use their good offices with the provincial government to fill the vacant posts of doctors in the KDA teaching hospital and women and children hospital.

Former MNA Javed Ibrahim Paracha, Tajir action committee president Abid Paracha and Kohat Chamber of Commerce and Industry senior vice-president Rasheed Paracha have said that Kohat lacked basic necessities of health and education though it was the headquarters of the southern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Most of the doctors working in these hospitals joined the medical college after its start in 2011. In principle, wherever a medical college is established the government appoints new staff for it, but in case of Kohat doctors and technicians left the local hospital and joined the college.

A doctor told this correspondent on condition of anonymity that there was acute shortage of doctors in the women and children hospital located in the centre of city.

He said that instead of appointing permanent doctors the government had adopted the policy of appointing untrained doctors on fixed salary of Rs30,000. He said that precious lives had been put at risk because the untrained doctors mostly spoiled the cases and gave wrong medicines to patients.

An office-bearer of paramedics association said that the vacant posts were not being filled because under the rules it could only be done through promotions or with the appointment of FCPS doctors. Dozens of doctors and other staff have also left the KDA hospital and joined the medical college, he said.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2016