No doctors at Chhab health centre, patients travel to Pindi

A 40-kanal public health centre in Chhab, in the Jand tehsil of Punjab’s Attock district, has been without a doctor for a prolonged period, forcing a dispenser to examine patients and prescribe medicines while many residents travel to hospitals in Rawalpindi for treatment.

Six sanctioned doctor posts at the Maryam Nawaz Health Centre remain vacant, according to an Express Tribune report. A doctor appointed on a temporary basis worked for only about 20 days before proceeding on leave, and the Attock chief executive officer for health allegedly allowed the facility’s only available doctor to go on leave without arranging a replacement — leaving the centre’s healthcare services virtually paralysed.

Local residents and patients’ relatives, including Faisal Mushtaq, Ghyoor Ahmed and Zareena Bibi, have urged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and the provincial Health Department to fill the vacant posts immediately and to ensure that a substitute doctor is deployed whenever the serving physician goes on leave.

The crisis persists despite more than Rs30 million reportedly spent on upgrading the centre this year. Residents say several facilities remain dysfunctional. A faulty transformer has reduced the electricity supply to a single phase, so patients cannot use the X-ray facility even though the machine is available. They have demanded that the hospital administration submit a demand notice to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) so the transformer can be repaired. A solar power system has also been installed at the centre, but its connection has not yet been provided.

Patients have also demanded the restoration of the contract of Dr Mansoor, who served at the hospital for 15 years before his contract expired and was not renewed. They say he should be retained until new appointments are made, and doctors recruited against the area quota should be transferred to the Chhab centre.

The report points to a wider pattern of staffing gaps at rural health facilities, where patients say a dispenser’s cover cannot substitute for qualified medical attention, especially when emergencies are involved. Residents say they now hope the health department’s response will move beyond temporary postings to permanent appointments for the six vacant doctor positions.