PESHAWAR: The opposition members lambasted the health department in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly here on Tuesday over missing health facilities and shortage of doctors in parts of the province.

The barrage of criticism came during the question hour when the house took up questions related to the department.

With Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani in the chair, member of the opposition Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Rehana Ismail informed the house that most government hospitals in the province didn’t have proper facilities for premature babies and therefore, infant death rate was very high.

“Premature babies need more care than others but it is not provided to them due to a lack of facilities,” she said, adding the uninterrupted power supply has also not ensured to the children wards and frequent power outages has increase in the babies miseries.

Opposition insists PTI has failed to improve healthcare in eight years rule

The lawmaker said two or three children were adjusted to one bed in the government hospitals due to shortages.

Mian Nisar Gul of the MMA said Karak district had the population of 0.7 million but the government had provided them with only a 10-bed hospital, which, too, was in dilapidated condition.

“I visited the hospital a few days ago and saw three children lie on one bed,” he said.

Salahuddin Khan Momand of the ANP said he had asked the health department through an assembly question why a medical officer was not posted to a dispensary in his constituency on the outskirt of the provincial capital.

“The reply of the health department is astonishing. It insists that the post of the medical officer hasn’t been even sanctioned for that health facility,” he said.

The lawmaker wondered how the dispensary would function if the government hadn’t sanctioned a doctor’s post for it.

He said the PTI had been ruling the province for the last eight years but had miserably failed to improve healthcare system.

Participating in the debate, Jamaat-i-Islami MPA from Bajaur tribal district Sirajudin Khan said the district headquarters hospital in his area had 12 posts of medical specialists but the government had appointed no one to them.

He said the residents were the ultimate sufferers of the vacancies as they were referred to Peshawar due to the unavailability of medical specialists.

The MPA said on average, every patent spent Rs15, 000-Rs20,000 to travel to Peshawar and undergo medical treatment.

He demanded of the government to post medical consultants to Bajaur hospitals to ease the misery of the residents.

The house referred the question of ANP member Shagufta Malik to the house’s committee on health. She had asked the government why there was no check on the high fees charged by private clinics and hospitals. The woman lawmaker had also wondered which law allowed the doctors to charge at will in private clinics.

The health department in its reply said there was no law to fix the fees charged by private doctors.

Both the treasury and opposition benches agreed to refer the issue to the house’s relevant committee for a detailed discussion on the issue and the framing of a mechanism for it.

The assembly also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Employees Social Security Bill, 2021, which was tabled by labour minister Shaukat Yousafzai.

He also tabled the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2021, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sentencing Bill, 2021.

The chair adjourned the session until Aug 27.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2021