PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has summoned the project director of a newly-established mental health centre here to respond to a petition against the discontinuation of services at over a century old Sarhad Hospital for Psychiatric Diseases (SHPD) and the transfer of its equipment and employees to the new facility.

A bench consisting of Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal directed the project director of the Fountain House Peshawar to produce acquisition documents and inform whether his centre was destined to be a separate entity or the SHPD was to be shifted from the Peshawar Central Prison along with staff members and assets to it.

It also extended a stay order against the goods and staff transfer until Aug 13 and adjourned the hearing until then.

The petition was filed by Friends of Mental Health, an organisation focusing on and financing mental health projects at the SHPD, against the relocation of the psychiatric hospital from the central prison to Fountain House Peshawar in Hayatabad.

Extends stay order against transfer of old psychiatric hospital’s equipment, employees

The counsel for the petitioner, Nouman Muhib Kakakhel, argued that the original PC-I was for the development of a mental hospital as there was just one public sector mental health hospital in the province, which accommodated Afghan refugees and patients from Gilgit- Baltistan as well.

He said that the SHPD was established inside the Peshawar Central Prison in 1854 during British rule in India.

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

He pointed out that a work plan was issued by the health department on Jan 24, 2024, during the caretaker government in the province, wherein a timeline was provided with regard to shifting of the SHPD to the Fountain House.

The lawyer added that the impugned office order was issued on Feb 26, 2024, to have the shifting of all the facilities and ending the same on March 1, 2024.

He contended that both the hospitals collectively could accommodate around 300 patients, whose number was very meagre for the whole province along with additional influx of patients from other areas.

Mr Kakakhel said the discontinuation of mental health facilities at the SHPD just because a new such hospital had been established would have a negative impact on all those depending on them.

He requested the court to declare 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.

The lawyer prayed the court to declare that Fountain House be made a separate hospital with complete facilities to complement and support the SHPD in providing mental health services to the people.

He argued that the caretaker government was not competent to order the shifting of assets and staff of the hospital.

Mr Kakakhel said the caretaker government also issued orders to declare the Fountain House a medical teaching institution and appoint the project director as its CEO against the law and the Constitution as it didn’t have powers to take major policy decisions.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2024