PESHAWAR, Oct 19: An official of the Women Health Project (WHP) has sought the advice of the secretary health to distribute six ambulances, which aren’t being delivered to the hospitals, owing to the verbal instructions of private secretary to health minister.

The WHP financed by the Asian Development Bank, had purchased 11 ambulances for which payment had already been made in May, but six of them were yet to be distributed. These were meant for the six districts — Swat, Swabi, Kohat, Hangu, Shangla and Dera Ismail Khan — for which the PC-1 had already been approved by the ADB.

The cost of one ambulance is Rs1.8 million. The health minister Inayatullah Khan and his private secretary wanted two ambulances for hospitals in their respective districts, whereas the director of the WHP did not agree, saying that they were meant for the targeted districts.

The director of the WHP had already asked the health minister to issue written directives, so that he could release ambulances to hospital in his district. So far, the minister has failed to issue written directives, but his secretary has given verbal instructions to the director to delay its release till further orders.

In a letter addressed to the secretary health on Oct 10, WHP director, said that two ambulances had been delivered to Civil Hospital Matta and Madyan, Swat district. One ambulance had been given to district headquarters hospital, Daggar, Buner district, as a special arrangements and one each was given to Central Hospital Saidu Sharif, Swat and Civil Hospital, Shakardara, Kohat district on the directives of the health minister.