BATTAGRAM: The district headquarters hospital, Battagram, is without specialist doctors despite having all the facilities in the newly-constructed building.

The hospital is meant to cater to the health needs of not only the people of Battagram but also Torghar, Shangla and Kohistan. But, due to absence of specialist doctors these facilities are of no use, people complain.

Posts of almost all doctors are lying vacant, including those of cardiologist, skin specialist (dermatologist), psychiatrist, ENT specialist, radiologist, eye and child specialist.

Ali Rehman, resident of Torghar district, told this correspondent that he took his one-and-a-half-year son to the DHQ hospital Battagram as he felt chest pain, but there was not child specialist.

He said now he was forced to take his ailing child to Abbottabad for treatment.

Farah Naz of Neeli Shang area of Battagram visited the hospital with complaint of skin allergy, but found no relevant doctor.

Ironically, the hospital also has no cardiologist despite the fact that heart diseases are rampant in the region. Khan Mohammad, 63, a heart patient, also returned disappointed after finding no cardiologist at the hospital.

Medical Superintendent Dr Dawood said he had requested the provincial authorities to fill the vacant posts of specialised doctors on priority basis.

TB CONTROL PROGRAMME: Health professionals on Tuesday demanded of the provincial government to hand over the charge of TB control programme to the district headquarters hospitals as they had the facilities required for the treatment.

The provincial health department has handed over the charge of running TB control programme to the district health officers.

They argued that the DHQ hospitals had specialised doctors and facilities for better treatment of the deadly disease.

Dr Gul Khan, senior medical officer at DHQ hospital, told Dawn that in many cases the government had handed over the TB control programme to freshly graduated medical officers who did not have the required expertise.

MAN KILLED: A man was shot dead on the premises of the civil court in Allai tehsil on Wednesday.

SHO Banna police station told this correspondent that Nazeer, 45, resident of Tandol, and Umair of Rashang along with other prisoners were brought by police from the sub-jail Battagram to Allai civil court for hearing of cases.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Asghar of Rashang on seeing his rival Umair, opened fire, but the bullets hit Nazeer who died on the spot. Umair escaped unhurt.

Police arrested the killer on the spot and registered FIR against him. Police said body of the deceased was taken to the tehsil headquarters hospital, Banna, wherefrom after autopsy it was handed over to family.

Family members placed the body on the road to protest against the poor security arrangements at the court.

They claimed that Nazeer’s case was not scheduled to be heard on the day but even then he was brought to the court.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2017