LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), Dec 18: Contrary to claims made by Fata health officials about the success of free mobile medical camps in tribal areas, a majority of tribesmen have expressed dissatisfaction with the medical facilities provided at these camps.

These mobile medical camps were established from time to time in all the seven tribal agencies under the directives of NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah. The government had donated five mobile vans equipped with what the health officials claimed state-of-the-art equipment to provide health cover to the residents of far-flung tribal areas.

In Khyber Agency, the health officials claimed that a total of 12,060 patients were treated and provided free medicines during its three-week campaign in Bara, Jamrud and Landi Kotal tehsils.

But residents of these areas argued that the camps were a mere formality and it was both wastage of time and money. Instead the money should have been spent on the existing health centres in tribal areas, said an employee of the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Landi Kotal who did not want to be named.

Patients attending these camps were provided only a limited number of medicines for all types of ailments. People in Bara and Landi Kotal also complained about the attitude of doctors accompanying these medical camps. With little regard for healthcare, the patients were given tablets either wrapped in pieces of newspaper or were "rolled" into their palms as these medicines were without proper packing.

The medicines provided at these camps included Gravinate syrup, Avil, Hyocine, Disprin tablets, Cemetidine syrup, Folic Acid and Dexamethasone injection. The camps were without a medical laboratory and technician. However, the X-Ray and ECG machines were stated to be in good shape.

Despite the fact that the vans were equipped with surgical equipment, no surgery was carried out at any tehsil of Khyber Agency during these mobile camps. The vans also saw their numbers being reduced from five to three in less than a month.

The Agency Headquarters Hospital gave a deserted look from Dec 7 to Dec 11 when two physicians, an ENT specialist, two radiologists and a gynaecologist with 17 support staff were deputed at the medical camps. The rest of the staff abstained from duty on the pretext that they too were on 'official duty' at these camps.

Despite a denial by the hospital's medical superintendent about the absence of doctors, the number of patients showing up at the hospital's OPD was small precisely for that reason.

A 35-member team of doctors and assistants could only manage to examine just a dozen patients during a day long visit to Loe Shalman.