PHC asks secy health to overcome deficiencies in KP hospitals

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday directed the secretary Health and Services Department to visit all the government hospitals and fulfil all the deficiencies and facilities in hospitals of the province.

A division bench comprising Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan issued direction to the secretary in a writ petition filed by a citizen, Abdul Haseeb, seeking an order of the court to government and Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) authorities for provision of MMI and CT scan facilities for the Pulmonology and Cardiology wards of KTH.

The petitioner claimed that patients are suffering and facing great difficulties due to unavailability of the test and X-Ray facilities in these wards.

"Nowadays technical staff of the hospitals is working as doctors in the government hospitals," Justice Qaiser Rashid told Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Secretary Dr Farooq Jamil, who appeared in the case.

Justice Qalandar Ali Khan observed that the government is spending huge amounts only in the hospitals of the capital city, while hospitals of other districts lack facilities, due to which there is great rush on the city's hospitals. He said that the government should also provide all facilities in the district hospitals.

During hearing of the case, the high court also took notice of the encroachment outside the KTH and directed the government and hospital administration to clear the area outside the hospital of the encroachments.

The court ordered the government to vacate all the plots outside the Accident and Emergency Department of KTH as patients are facing problems in shifting patients to the Emergency Department of the hospital.