PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Wednesday stopped provincial health department from discontinuing services at more than a century-old Sarhad Hospital for Psychiatric Diseases (SHPD) and shifting its assets and staff to a new psychiatric health facility in Peshawar.

A bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah issued notices to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary and health secretary, asking them to respond to a petition filed by Friends of Mental Health Organisation.

The organisation has challenged the government’s decision to shift SHPD to Institute of Mental health Behavioural Sciences, Hayatabad, called as Fountain House, along with staff and assets.

The bench directed the government to maintain status quo on the matter till further order. Next date for hearing of the petition will be fixed later.

Bench seeks response of govt to plea against the move

The petitioner is an organisation focusing on and financing mental health projects at SHPD. The petitioner was represented by advocates Nouman Muhib Kakakhel and Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel.

They stated that SHPD was established inside Peshawar Central Prison in 1854 during British rule in India. They said that the hospital provided free of cost services to patients suffering from mental ailment throughout the province. They added that setting up the hospital inside the prison was due to security concerns with regard to patients with extreme psychological disorders.

Nouman Kakakhel said that in the light of rising mental health issues in the province, it was deemed necessary to have another hospital to compliment and assist the present setup of SHPD, therefore, a PC-I was prepared to make another health facility Fountain House in Hayatabad, Peshawar.

He argued that the PC-I was originally prepared with regard to establishing a new mental health hospital apart from SHPD as there was only one such hospital for the entire province which also accommodated Afghan refugees and patients from Gilgit-Baltistan.

Mr Kakakhel said that surprisingly, instead of setting up a separate full-fledged hospital, SHPD was being done away with and it was decided that all its assets and staff would be transferred to Fountain House.

He pointed out that a work plan was issued by the health department on January 24, 2024, wherein a timeline was provided with regard to shifting of SHPD to Fountain House. Following that, he said, the impugned office order was issued on February 26, 2024, to have shifting of all the facilities and ending the same on March 1, 2024.

He contended that both the hospitals collectively could accommodate 300 or so patients. He added that it was a meagre number for the whole province along with additional influx of patients from other areas.

He said that ending provision of mental health facilities at SHPD, merely because a new hospital had been established, would have a negative impact on all the people dependent on it.

He requested the court to declare as illegal and against public interest the decision to discontinue services of SHPD from March 1, 2024 and transfer its staff and assets to the Fountain House.

He prayed the court to declare that Fountain House should be made a separate hospital with full-fledged facilities to complement and support SHPD in providing mental health services to people.

The counsel said that relatives of patients admitted to SHPD had time and again written applications to relevant quarters with regard to non-shifting of the hospital to any other place, but in vain.

Published in Dawn, February 29th, 2024