TAXILA: Completed at the cost of Rs1.7 billion just four months ago, there are 61 vacancies for specialists, paramedical staff and technicians at the Wah General Hospital, which is also lacking facilities for indoor treatment, providing medicines, conducting X-rays and even a functioning operation theatre.

Posts for urologists, cardiologists, orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, neurologists, clinical psychologists, emergency specialists, trauma surgeons, forensic experts, TB and chest specialists, psychiatrists, dermatologists, epidemiologists, blood transfusion officers and nursing superintendents are vacant.

Funds for providing medicines have not yet been released and health authorities have to arrange medicines from other tehsil headquarters hospital, in Rawalpindi and Attock.

When it was being inaugurated, the health authorities said the hospital has the capacity to admit 100 patients but that service is not being offered yet.

“I came to admit my wife for her delivery from a village 26km away, Thatta Khalil, but the doctors refused to admit her saying the hospital cannot do C-sections and now I have to take her to a private hospital,” said Arshad Mehmood, a 32-year-old daily wager.

Another patient, Sana Naz, said she had come to the hospital from 20km away because she had read about the new hospital to find it does not have X-ray facilities. The hospital’s assistant medical superintendent, Dr Shaista Faisal, said no funds have been released for medicines.

Medical Superintendent Dr Ibrar Ahmed told Dawn that the hospital had started working on April 13 this year and had started receiving patients from the first day. He said between 600 and 800 patients are still received in the outpatient department every day.

He said the Punjab Public Service Commission will appoint specialists while other staff will be appointed when the ban on appointments and transfers is lifted after the general elections.

Operation theatre, X-Ray and indoor facilities will be commissioned when the hospital gets necessary funds, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 17th , 2018