BAHAWALNAGAR: The Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (PSHD) transferred the orthopedic surgeon from Minchinabad Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital to the district headquarters hospital on Tuesday.

With this development, Minchanabad hospital has been left without a surgeon. The hospital caters to a population of 500,000 in the tehsil.

Dr Muhammad Furqan Arshad, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, was transferred on administrative grounds by the PSHD and directed to report back to the PHSD with immediate effect through a notification on Sept 19. The PSHD posted him at the DHQ hospital on the same date by issuing another notification.

Health Chief Executive Officer Dr Riaz Mastoi told Dawn that the Minchinabad THQ was facing an acute shortage of staff, and the transfer of the only orthopaedic surgeon should not have occurred under these circumstances.

District Health Authority sources informed Dawn that the health CEO had resisted the transfer for several months due to staff shortages at Minchinabad THQ hospital.

Moreover, only one of the two operating theatres in the THQ hospital was functional, and even there, only minor surgeries were being carried out, according to THQ sources.

Dr Furqan said he was a resident of Bahawalnagar and it was his right to be posted in his home city. He said he formally applied for a vacant post and was appointed on merit.

Referring critical patients to DHQ is a routine matter, leading to a situation where most patients face risks during the journey, they added.

Meanwhile, citizens protested on Wednesday over the transfer of the orthopaedic surgeon and submitted a written application to the Bahawalnagar health CEO for early posting of a surgeon at the THQ.

The CEO said he would forward this application to the health secretary and request immediate posting of an orthopaedic surgeon at the THQ.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2023