MANSEHRA: The people of Darband area of Mansehra district on Saturday took to the streets along with their cattle to protest against shortage of doctors and healthcare services in the tehsil headquarters hospital. They tied the cattle in the hospital to record their protest.

“We have long been protesting against shortage of doctors and facilities in the hospital. We have long been demanding of the health department to fill the vacant posts of doctors, paramedics and other staff, but to no avail. These posts have been lying vacant for long. We have adopted this strange way of hauling our livestock to the hospital to shake the rulers’ conscience,” Habib Sakhi, the former Darband neighbourhood nazim, told protesters on the occasion.

The protesters holding cattle marched through the central bazaar to the tehsil headquarters hospital, turning the health facility virtually into a cattle pen.

The protesters also raised slogans against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government and local lawmakers.

“Had there been a doctor at the Darband tehsil hospital a minor girl, who was pulled alive from a dried well after four days of her mysteries missing, could have been saved, but she died on way to the district headquarters hospital, Mansehra, last week,” blasted Mr Sakhi.

He also warned that if the vacant posts of doctors, paramedical and other staff were not filled within a week they would again hold protests and also bring their cattle to the hospital.

Another speaker, Mohammad Nasir, said that the hospital was built some two years ago, but seven posts of doctors, including the lady doctor, had been lying vacant ever since then.

“The PTI government makes tall claims of bringing reforms in the health sector, but nothing practical has been done on the ground and people are still without healthcare services. This hospital is a live example of the government’s inefficiency and ineptitude,” said Mr Nasir.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2019