PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Wednesday deputed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health secretary, Abid Majeed, as focal person for the ongoing project of setting up of a burns centre in the provincial capital, with the direction that the project should be completed at the earliest.

The bench comprising Justice Qaiser Rasheed and Justice Younas Taheem directed the health secretary to submit regular fortnightly reports to the court regarding the progress on the work taking place on the burns centre.

The bench fixed November 14 for next hearing of a writ petition filed by a former deputy attorney general, Mohammad Khursheed Khan, who requested the court to issue directives for establishment of a burns centre of international standard as presently burn victims had to be shifted to other provinces for treatment.

Initially, the court had taken notice of the non-presence of a burns centre in the province while hearing another case in July. Subsequently the present petition was also filed by the petitioner.

Court directs early completion of the scheme

The health secretary appeared before the bench and stated that provincial government had released Rs122 million for the project, whereas US $16 million would be provided by the USAID. The burns centre is being constructed at Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar.

Mr Majeed said that at least 770 pieces of different equipment had to be installed at the centre which would take some time. He said that due to importance of the project, they had been making efforts for the early completion of the centre.

A representative of Peshawar Electric Supply Company informed the bench that the company had already provided power connection to the centre.

Similarly, a representative of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines told the bench that they would need four more weeks for provision of natural gas supply to the centre.

Justice Qaiser Rasheed observed that the work should be completed at the earliest and the court would not tolerate any bureaucratic hurdles in its way. He also directed that honest persons should be deputed for purchase of equipment and other items for the project so that no funds should be misappropriated. The bench also observed that the task should have been achieved by the government without any notice by the court.

The petitioner has requested the court to issue directives for setting up burn units in all the major hospitals in the provincial capital as well as in other main cities including Mardan, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat, Kohat, etc.

Mr Khursheed has also requested the court to issue directives to the government to carry out inspection of all the tankers carrying petrol and kerosene oil and to ban entry into the provincial capital of such oil tankers, which were below the prescribed standards.

He said that patients from the province had to be shifted to burns centres at Pakistan Institute of Medical sciences, Islamabad, Centre at Wah Cantt and Kharian. He added that treatment in centres outside the province was expensive and poor patients could not afford it.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2017