LAKKI MARWAT: People of Lakki city and adjacent villages have been facing problems due to the lack of interest by doctors to perform their duty in the government City Hospital.

Several doctors posted in this only government hospital of urban locality have their private clinics on old Kutchery Road just outside the hospital. They usually prefer attending to patients in their private clinics to their duty in the hospital and show up as late as 10:00am in the morning.

The doctors’ lack of interest in their professional obligations was exposed on Friday when additional assistant commissioner Mohammad Yaqoob Burki paid a surprise visit to the City Hospital. He asked the levy police personnel to close main gate of the hospital to stop entry of doctors coming late for duty. The official found that nine of the 12 doctors had not arrived for their duty.

Sources said that two doctors, including Dr Badshah Khan and Dr Matiullah Khan, managed to enter the hospital when they learnt about Mr Burki’s visit, but they were marked absent in the attendance register.

The visiting official also went to different wards and checked the available healthcare facilities. He inspected the drug store and asked about the availability of essential medicines. He asked the medical superintendent to improve the state of affairs in the hospital.

“The local administration is committed to ensuring the presence of doctors in all health facilities across the district,” he said and added that action would be recommended against the absent doctors.

COMPENSATION DEMANDED: The local chapter of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl in a meeting on Friday demanded of the government to assess the rain-related losses and compensate farmers of the district accordingly.

Party’s tehsil chief Maulana Ahmad Shah presided over the meeting.

He and other local office-bearers said that the recent rains and hailstorm damaged wheat and gram crops in parts of the district. They said that farmers of the district were poor and they grew wheat or gram once in a year.

“The government should order the relevant local officials to conduct an assessment of the rain-related losses so that the affected farmers could be compensated without delay,” said Mr Shah. He also called upon the federal government to start repatriation of internally displaced persons of North Waziristan Agency to their hometown. Other activists asked the Saifullah brothers to attend meetings of the Marwat Qaumi Jirga and play their role for peace and development in the district. — Correspondent

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2015

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