Several MPAs from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) showed concerns over the shortage of doctors and other medical staff in public sector hospitals across the province during the provincial assembly’s session on Tuesday.
It was revealed on the floor of the house that various positions in the medical sector remain vacant in remote regions like Tank, Dir, Chitral, Karak, and Kohistan.
The details further show that around 70 out of 120 seats for doctors are vacant in the district Tank along with 22 nurses and 38 paramedics positions.
Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Mian Nisar Gul stated that district Karak is also facing a shortage of 132 doctors, 149 paramedics, and 43 nurses.
Besides, Awami National Party’s (ANP) Shagufta Malik said that female patients in Hangu are facing severe problems due to this.
KP’s Minister for Health, Taimur Salim Jhagra, concurred with the respective MPAs and said that the doctors are unwilling to work in the far-flung areas which as a result is creating a shortage.
He detailed that doctors who were posted to those locations always pushed for their transfers to the urban areas instead and added that the government is working to make the transfer/posting system more transparent and to ensure the presence of medical staff in the remote areas.