Charsadda: Jamaat-i-Islami Youth Charsadda vice-president Naveed Khan has expressed concern about the absence of doctors in critical care areas and shortage of essential facilities at the District Headquarters Hospital, and demanded the immediate intervention by the health department.

Mr Khan said the alleged absence of a doctor at the hospital’s coronary care unit on Sunday was a matter of serious concern, particularly because patients suffering from chest pain or suspected cardiac complications required immediate assessment, ECG and treatment.

He said the situation was more worrying because senior officials had visited the hospital only a few days earlier and had pointed out deficiencies. “If doctors and other staff are still not available during duty hours, it raises serious questions about the hospital administration’s monitoring and control,” he said.

Mr Khan also questioned the referral of patients requiring routine emergency surgical treatment to hospitals in Peshawar. He said unnecessary referrals placed an additional financial burden on poor patients.

“Charsadda requires a properly functioning tertiary-level public hospital where emergency, surgical, cardiac and other essential services are available round the clock,” he said.

Mr Khan urged the provincial health minister and the health department to ensure uninterrupted availability of emergency and surgical services, address shortages of doctors, paramedics and technicians, and review cases where patients were referred to hospitals outside the district.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2026