PESHAWAR: The community social audit of two tehsils of the Mardan district has shown that the provision of facilities in the health sector does not justify the budget allocations by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
The Centre for Governance and Public Accountability made the social audit report of tehsil headquarters hospital Takhtbhai and Katlang at a seminar held here. It revealed a dismal condition of health services at tehsil level, a press release issued on Thursday said.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa declared an emergency in the health sector and allocated a huge development budget of Rs 67 billion for the health sector from FY 2013-14 to 2017-2018.
The community social audit of Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Takhtbhai and Katlang revealed the dismal conditions of health services at tehsil level.
It said the key sanctioned positions of staff have been vacant since long, generators are run on public donations; out of five ambulances only one is functional; oxygen cylinders are empty; no C-Section carried out in both the hospitals in the last year, however 2,065 deliveries were conducted in THQ Takhtbhai.
The social audit said the blood bank is dysfunctional, an X-Ray machine of worth Rs7 million was never operationalized at Katlang Hospital, OT, Gynea ward, Labor Room and Children Wards do not have heating and cooling systems.
It said the Katlang Hospital has been running without a Medical Superintendent for the last two years, Radiologists and Anesthetists positions are vacant; the only ECG machine at Katlang Hospital has been out of order since long; incinerators are out of order and solid waste is disposed of in the open wells at the hospitals.
Similarly, a water supply scheme with Annual Development Plan No 227/100/100 2011-12 was constructed at a cost of Rs576 million. Of these 31 tube-wells were rehabilitated in Mardan.
Out of 31 tube-wells, 25 were never remained functional. Final bills of the tube-wells revealed that the tube-wells were fully constructed and functional.
Director, Ehtesab Commission Col (Ret) Sardar Ali shared the performance of the KP Ehtesab Commission. He said all branches of the investigation wing of KP Ehtesab Commission were almost non-functional due to non-availability of staff. He said out of 82 sanctioned positions, only 15 had been filled out at officer level.
Chief of KP Information Commission Azmat Hanif Orakzai, said the KP Right to Information law, is playing a vital role in the social audit of public bodies, particularly the government departments.
The director general of the Health Department extended support to the tehsil hospitals and noted the complaints. A committee was formed on the spot to address the issues and problems pointed out in the social audit of the hospitals.
CGPA Executive Director Muhammed Anwar said corruption in the public development schemes was systemic and the trend could not be arrested until allocation of development was not stopped to MPAs.
