Health minister suspends MS DHQ Charsadda for absence

PES­HAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan continued to pay late night surprise visits to hospitals and issued suspension orders of doctors including medical superintendent of District Headquarters Hospital Charsadda and Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Tangi on Friday night.

He visited different hospitals in Charsadda and expressed shock over lack of services in the hospitals. He suspended the absent doctors and other staff including MS and DMSs.

The minister also ordered transparent inquiry against DMS DHQ Charsadda, who was allegedly unqualified and inquiry against the former MS of the hospital.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan issued a suspension letter to the MS Tehsil Headquarters Tangi Hospital on the spot with the closing comments of “Welcome to Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan.”

A handout issued here on Saturday said that Dr Hisham visited District Headquarters Hospital Charsadda along MPAs Arif Mohammadzai and Fazal Shakoor Khan.

The minister also inspected the hospital emergency, radiology department, operation theatre and various wards and listened to the grievances of the patients and other attendants.

He expressed anguish over non-provision of services, unhygienic condition of operation theatres and absence of some doctors and other staff from duty.He directed for improving cleanliness condition, vacating the doctor’s residences occupied by irrelevant people as well as to ensure anti-rabies vaccine,

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan told the administration to buy the vaccine from market if it was not available with the department.

Later talking to media, Dr Hisham said that proper focus was not being given to condition of the hospitals particularly in the remote areas. He said that he knew it was the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf government that ruled the province for five years and claimed to have brought about a revolution in health sector.He said he should be held responsible if he could not improve the system in next five years.

“We want to improve the system and raise the standard of healthcare for the public of this province,” he said.

He deplored that some people were trying to pull him down, his team and this government, saying they were focusing on their work to deliver.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan assured that newly constructed Mother and Child Hospital Charsadda would soon be functionalized.

The minister was informed that evening shift DMS Dr Jibran of DHQ Charsadda was allegedly unqualified, upon which he instantly issued his suspension order and ordered probe into the matter.

He also ordered an inquiry against the former MS Dr Jamal Akbar of the hospital, who was recently transferred.

Meanwhile, Dr Hisham also visited Tehsil Headquarters Tangi late night and showed concern over absence of staff. He issued a letter to the MS Dr Israr and DMS Dr Nihar on the spot.

“This is supposed to be a category C or category D hospital and there are only two patients, whereas only one doctor, two paramedics and three class-four are present,” he said.“You as the incharge of this facility have brought a bad name and shame to the health department as well as the health profession.

You are playing with the lives of poor people of this province with whose money these hospitals are being run and you are paid. I consider it a great moral disgrace above all.

You the DMS, the doctors, the paramedics, the nurses who are supposed to be here instead of me and my team and you are hereby suspended from service and a transparent inquiry will be conducted within 10 days and upon the report of the inquiry you will be punished according to E&D rules 2011,” he explained.