PESHAWAR, Sept 29: The District Health Management Committee, Malakand, in its meeting held on Saturday, criticized the Wapda officials for not informing the management of the Agency Headquarters Hospital, Batkhela, before disconnecting power to the hospital.

Such unannounced power cuts create difficulties for the patients, specially those undergoing surgery, said Nazim Zakir Hussain, while presiding over a meeting of the committee.

Present at the meeting were union Nazimeen Khan Badshah and Saeed Khan, AHQ Hospital MS Dr Liaquat Ali Khan and other officers, besides the committee members.

The participants demanded of the Wapda high-ups to exempt the health institutions from loadshedding, and in case of emergency the hospital should be informed in advance so that they could make an alternate arrangement.

Briefing the committee, Dr Liaquat Ali Khan disclosed that the AHQ hospital had shown better performance during the last few months, which, he said, was clear from the hospital record.

He said that a 50 per cent increase had been registered both in the outdoor and indoor patients.

Also, 392 major operations were carried out between January and August as compared to the 94 operations done in the same period last year.