SWABI: The Swabi district having a population of about 1.8 million people lacks a burns centre.

Local people, including political activists, told Dawn on Sunday that the burn patients always required swift hospitalisation keeping in view the serious nature of their injuries.

They lamented that local government minister Shahram Khan Tarakai, who was provincial health minister in Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s previous government, did not make any serious effort to set up a burns centre in the district.

They said that Awami National Party was equally responsible for failure to set up the centre during its stint in the government because its leaders had called Swabi second home of Red Shirt leaders after Charsadda.

Abdul Ghafoor, a resident of Sodher village, recalled that two years ago when three members of his family sustained burns, they were referred to a hospital in Peshawar from Bacha Khan Complex because of which their condition deteriorated.

A woman of Maneri Bala, who also suffered burns three years ago, said her family first took her to the district headquarters hospital, then Mardan and finally to Peshawar, thus aggravating her injuries.

Khani Gul of Pirtab village said his wife, who sustained burns, was taken to Peshawar after wasting a lot of time at the DHQ hospital.

Interaction with other burns patients revealed that majority of them was unaware of the fact that such patients could only be treated in a burns hospital.

Political activists said after the establishment of Gajju Medical College Swabi there was critical need to establish a burns centre at Bacha Khan Complex.

“I don’t know why the government is delaying the establishment of a burns centre at the Bacha Khan Complex,” district nazim Hassan Khan regretted. He said the PTI government did not take interest in provision of such facility.

People demanded of political parties and influential people of the district to shun their differences and jointly work for establishment of a burns centre in the district.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2018