Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: A significant technical and administrative impasse has emerged over the outsourcing of the Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital in Booni, Upper Chitral, raising concerns that residents could be deprived of upgraded healthcare facilities despite the provincial government allocating hundreds of millions of additional rupees.
A Health Department source said the complications arose after the secondary healthcare facility was upgraded from Category “D” to Category “C” shortly after its management was outsourced to a private bidder. The provincial authorities had originally advertised the facility as a Category “D” hospital, enabling a Shangla-based private organisation to win the contract.
However, due to the unresolved technical issue, the private organisation had not formally taken control of the facility when the provincial government upgraded its status to Category “C”.
The upgrade significantly changed the hospital’s operational scope, human resource requirements and funding.
Under the revised criteria, the Booni hospital is entitled to nine additional medical specialists, 20 medical officers, 20 nursing staff members and an expanded paramedical workforce, along with a substantially larger budget for life-saving medicines and diagnostic equipment.
The Health Department source said handing over the facility under the terms of the original Category “D” agreement would mean depriving the people of Upper Chitral of vital Category “C” services.
The core of the technical issue lies in the financial clauses of the existing contract, under which the provincial government is legally bound to transfer the hospital’s entire budgetary allocation directly to the private operator.
“If the contract is executed as originally signed, the private operator would receive the vastly increased Category ‘C’ budget while remaining contractually obligated to provide lower-tier Category ‘D’ healthcare services,” the source said.
The source said that despite the significant financial and public-service implications, the Health Department had not yet formally initiated action to review or amend the agreement.
The technical and administrative impasse has stalled the deployment of upgraded medical personnel and advanced diagnostic equipment to the remote region.
Local civil society members have previously raised concerns over Upper Chitral’s deteriorating healthcare infrastructure and warned that the unresolved contractual discrepancy could further prolong residents’ wait for adequate emergency and specialist healthcare.
They said senior Health Department officials were reportedly reviewing legal options to amend the contract terms.
However, no formal timeline has been given for when the Shangla-based organisation will modify its operational plan to accommodate the requirements of the Category “C” hospital.
The situation has raised concerns that unless the technical and administrative impasse is resolved, residents of Upper Chitral may not receive the enhanced healthcare services envisaged under the hospital’s upgraded status.