PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has directed heads of all public hospitals in the province to ensure the presence of staff members on duty during Eid days, saying nobody should leave the workplace without prior information.
In a notification, health secretary Shahidullah Khan asked all hospital medical superintendents, district health officers, directors and heads of field formations to ensure uninterrupted health services during Eid holidays.
“None of the staffers shall leave the duty station without prior approval from the competent authority,” read the notification.
The secretary also ordered “strict attendance, emergency preparedness and round-the-clock staff availability” in hospitals and asked medical superintendents to submit timely health and emergency updates to the department to maintain emergency response teams and duty rosters, availability of medicines, ambulances and essential staff. He also said all hospitals should remain on high alert for any public health emergency.
“Any negligence, absence from duty, delay in reporting or violation of these instructions shall be viewed seriously and may result in disciplinary action under relevant rules,” read the notification.
It added that the MSs and DHOs would be responsible for compliance with the directives in letter and spirit.
The secretary directed hospital heads and DHOs to inspect the respective healthcare facilities, especially accident and emergency departments, and ensure they’re fully functional and adequately staffed round the clock. He said the health facilities shouldn’t stay unattended at any time during Eid holidays.
“In view of heavy traffic load and possible road accidents, all hospitals should be prepared to cope with critically-injured people. To ensure this, emergency units are fully staffed with medical and paramedical personnel with adequate stocks of intravenous fluids, oral rehydration salt, antacids, antiemetic, antibiotics and other essential medicines,” he said.
The secretary also directed authorities to ensure that essential medical equipment stays functional and readily accessible to extend prompt medication to the serious cases.
He also ordered the scaling up of public awareness about safe food handling and hygiene practices to prevent stomach-related issues during Eid days.
Meanwhile, director-general health services Dr Shaheen Afridi instructed authorities to take necessary measures for effective public health management, disease surveillance and hygiene standards during Eid holidays.
In a notification, Dr Afridi said all public health coordinators should remain present at their assigned duty stations for strict monitoring of hotels, dhabas, restaurants and other eateries to ensure that proper hygiene, cleanliness and safe food handling practices are maintained. She said steps were taken to prevent outbreak of communicable diseases, especially in high-risk and overcrowded locations.
The DG said the disease surveillance and response units should remain fully functional, active and on high alert and in case of detection of any disease or unusual health event, authorities should ensure immediate response through preventive measures and timely reporting to the competent authority.
She directed the director (public health) to maintain good coordination with officials at district level and maintain close liaison with the provincial and district control rooms to ensure timely information sharing and prompt action. Dr Afridi ordered the availability of necessary human resource, logistics and communication arrangements to respond effectively to any public health emergency.
She told the director to fix responsibility for any negligence or lapse and ensure that all officials perform their duties with utmost diligence.
“Any lapse in duty shall be dealt with under relevant rules,” she warned.
Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2026
