PESHAWAR: Lack of funds, pledged by health department, has been hampering the operations of accident and emergency department at Khyber Teaching Hospital to a desired level, according to sources.

They said that the department was partially started in September last year but it was yet to offer any relief to the patients because of shortage of staff and equipment.

“The ground floor of the seven-storey building has become operational but it has not made any difference as far as improvement in emergency services to the patients is concerned,” they added.

Finance dept fails to release Rs1.62bn for purchase of equipment

Sources said that the building was completed at the cost of Rs1.3billion on August 31, 2018. They said that a PC-1 of Rs2.71 billion was submitted to finance department on August 1, 2018 for purchase of equipment but the amount was yet to be released.

On the cabinet’s approval in December 2017, the finance department agreed to release an amount of Rs1.62 billion for equipment but the amount was not released despite completion of the procurement process. The suppliers were not willing to supply the equipment without being paid, said sources.

In this connection, two reminders were sent to finance department on May 21 and June 24 to release the fund but these were yet to be responded. The finance department agreed to give Rs350 million, including Rs100 million for CT scan and Rs250 million for MRI, on the directives of Peshawar High Court on September 26 2018, but the amount was released only for CT scan.

Health Secretary Dr Syed Farooq Jamil told Dawn that a meeting held with chief minister in the chair recently decided to make the department fully operational within three months.

“We have asked the KTH administration to make a plan for a phase-wise release of the required amount of RsRs1.6 billion. We are waiting for the response,” he said.

The state-of-the-art facility was meant to have all services required by seriously-ill and wounded. But it is yet to get the desired staff and equipment.

It is the second accident and emergency department after that of the Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar that was designed to have its own wards to provide prompt services to the patients.

The department was partially launched because the old A&ED at the hospital was too small to cater to the needs of patients.

It already faced delay in completion of construction owing to non-availability of funds. Its construction was begun in 2009 but was completed last year.

According to the plan, the A&ED, if provided with staff and instruments, would have women and children wards. The building located inside the hospital is accessible to patients from all sides, especially from Khyber tribal district. It would reduce the load of patients on Hayatabad Medical Complex and LRH.

Now, there are only stop-gap arrangements and staffers of the hospital have been deputed there. It required posts of emergency and trauma specialists besides paramedics and nurses, who would be deployed exclusively for the serious patients.

It will have full-fledged neurosurgery, spinal cord surgery and cardiology department besides the facility of lab to ensure provision of quick services to the people with heart ailments.

A big parking lot vaving120-car capacity and 150-seat auditorium have also been established there.

The department will have its own investigative services including ultrasound, X-rays, minor operating theatre, CT scan facilities and pathological services besides mortuary and cafeteria.

A trauma hall at the A&ED will have the capacity to accommodate 100 patients on the ground floor to cope with mass emergencies.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2019