SKARDU, Dec 5: Residents of Ghanche district are facing severe hardships and problems due to lack of specialist doctors, paramedical staff and latest medical facilities at the hospital of Khaplu.

Several people have complained that despite a passage of three years of its upgradation, the government has not yet provided specialist doctors and paramedic staff to the hospital, compelling most of the patients to go to the district hospital Skardu, 100km away.

The government has spent huge public funds on the building of the hospital by upgrading it from 10 to 30 beds. It is the only hospital in the whole district that deals with patients coming from valleys as far as Olding near the Line of Control.

People said that at times, serious patients died on the way before reaching Skardu hospital due to long journey and rough road condition. Keeping in view the miserable condition of the people and the backwardness of the area, the army's medical corp arranges mobile medical camps from time to time at different villages and towns especially in Ghanche district.