PESHAWAR, July 13: Unplanned addition and alteration work at the Khyber Teaching Hospital has been causing hardship to patients, hospital sources told Dawn on Tuesday. The Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) was commissioned in late 1976 with 26 units.

The 1200-bed hospital, which was built at a cost of Rs129 million in seven years, now has 32 units. Casualty patients are the worst sufferers. The door to the casualty ward, which connects it to the main block, has been lying closed for unknown reasons for some time. As a result patients have to take a long route to reach the medical and surgical wards.

"The administration has ordered closure of the door, because it was being used more by the general public than patients. It is true that patients suffer but we cannot open it," said a doctor in the casualty ward.

The construction of a wall between the operation theatre and the children's wards has been a cause of embarrassment not only for the patients but also for the staffers as the wall makes it difficult for doctors and paramedics to visit the wards.

The surgical ICU, built in front of the operation theatre, has two doors. "One has to be very quick when a patient's condition is serious. Therefore, there is no need for two doors which hinder the smooth shifting of patients," said a registrar at the surgical ward.