ATTOCK, Nov 25: Patients are facing problems due to shortage of specialist doctors at the district headquarters hospital for the last many years.

The health department has also failed to provide X-ray machine to the hospital despite assurance given by the Punjab governor in this regard.

Inquiry by this correspondent showed that there were no cardiologist, pathologist, radiologist, chest specialist and pharmacist at the hospital and medical officers sometime worked as specialist while some departments were even run by technicians and other paramedical staff.

Due to the unavailability of specialists and other facilities, many emergency cases were referred to Rawalpindi. The Directly- Observed Treatment programme for tuberculosis has also been used irregularly due to absence of chest specialists, causing problems to thousands of patients in the district.

Similarly, the post of pharmacist has been vacant for the last three years causing great inconvenience in checking and controlling standard of purchased drugs at the hospital. All medicines are sent to the Drug Testing Laboratory at Lahore for obtaining clearance certificates.

There are only one surgeon and a medical specialist at the hospital, who cannot provide 24-hour service to the patients. People said they had been raising the issue with the local administration and health authorities, but to no avail.

Even Punjab Governor Lt-Gen (retired) Khalid Maqbool had promised that specialist doctors would be appointed on the vacant posts and new X-ray plant would be provided to the hospital on a priority basis.

The Punjab government has recently announced to upgrade the hospital, but local communities believed that unless required doctors were not appointed, the up gradation plan would not benefit the people.

Patients complained that life-saving drugs were not available in emergency and other wards. They said the common man faced the shortage of medicines frequently, while for influential people and their families drugs were purchased from the local market.

They said the hospital staff even did not provide X-ray facility to the patients and asked them to visit their private clinics. Blood transfusion unit is also unable to provide the facility, they said.

When contacted, local health authorities said specialist doctors' posts had remained vacant because no specialist was interested to take the job on a contract basis. Due to unavailability of pharmacist, drugs are sent to Lahore for verification as per policy but the clearance report is received in only seven days and medicines are being smoothly provided to patients, they claimed.