Pending salaries release assured: Doctors end strike at Kohistan DHQ Hospital

MANSEHRA: Doctors, paramedics, and other staff of the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Upper Kohistan have ended their month-long strike and resumed healthcare services after the district administration assured them that their pending salaries for the past six months would be released soon.

“We have signed two separate agreements, one with the non-governmental organisation running the DHQ Hospital under a public-private partnership and another with the striking staff, assuring them that their salaries will be released within the first 10 days of October,” Khuram Khan Jadoon, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Upper Kohistan, told reporters on Monday.

Residents of Upper Kohistan were deprived of healthcare and diagnostic services for more than a month after Nida Pakistan, the NGO operating the hospital, allegedly breached its agreement by failing to appoint staff and provide medical services.

“Expectant women were also left without obstetrics and gynecology care, except in emergency cases, as doctors, paramedics, and other staff boycotted duties for over a month due to non-payment of salaries,” Jadoon added.

He said the district administration had earlier completed an inquiry that held Nida Pakistan responsible for violating its agreement with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Following the findings, officials engaged with the striking staff and committed to releasing their salaries in the first quarter of October.

“In another agreement, Nida Pakistan has pledged to address the shortage of specialists, doctors, and other staff and ensure that all departments at the DHQ Hospital are fully functional and providing healthcare services to patients from across the district,” the ADC said.

Jadoon added that the organisation would also ensure all appointments and operations were carried out in line with the agreement.Medical Superintendent DHQ Dasu, Dr Maqsood, confirmed that Nida Pakistan would release salaries of around 130 staff members, including 30 doctors, by October 10 after the government released the agreed amount of funds.