PESHAWAR, Nov 27: A shortage of doctors in the quake-affected areas is affecting patients, volunteers and health workers said. A surgeon, who returned after working at a field hospital in Balakot, said that more doctors and paramedics were needed in the affected areas. He said that there was no dearth of medicines and other logistic support, but the number of doctors and health workers was extremely low.

“Shortage of women health workers is a big problem as patients requiring maternity and obstetric care are suffering a great deal,” said a Peshawar-based gynaecologist. According to her, she went to Balakot with four other women doctors and as many nurses, but had to return the following day. “We established a camp in a compound and had planned to run the camp for a week, but the owner of the compound evicted us the next morning,” she said, adding that she also met several women doctors from Karachi and Lahore, who were planning to return owing to lack of security.

“The number of injured is higher than that given by the government,” claimed Karachi-based gynaecologist and general secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association, Dr Shershah Syed.

He said that patients needing trauma-care were also at the receiving end due to shortage of specialist doctors in the quake-affected areas.

Dr Syed said that Mansehra district headquarters hospital and Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad, were receiving hundreds of patients, but due to lack of doctors and health workers, they were unable provide proper treatment and referring them to Peshawar and Islamabad.

“We have to postpone several surgeries due to lack of trained staff. Some of the patients need urgent operations, because they are already late. Immediate operations can save their limbs from being amputated,” said a doctor, who worked at the Ayub Teaching Hospital.