PESHAWAR, April 18: The Provincial Doctors Association of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday complained about shortage of medical staff at major and teaching hospitals and periphery health units in the province and demanded early resolution of the issue by the government.

It also urged the government to legislate for appointment of qualified jobless doctors as medical officers and warned that if its demands weren’t met until May 1, it would begin holding demonstrations, which could lead to complete boycott of duty.PDA President Dr Shah Sawar told a news conference here at Peshawar Press Club that most teaching hospitals and basic health facilities in the province lacked required medical staff but the government had ignored the shortage.

He said the government had set up new hospitals and medical institutions in the province but didn’t appoint necessary staff to the existing medical facilities. He called for making a concrete policy for appointment of new doctors to health centres. Dr Shah said more than 3,400 doctors had appeared in the recent test of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission and 2,300 of them were declared successful.—Bureau Report