Viral video raises questions over staff availability at DHQ Hospital Tank

TANK: A video circulating on social media showing the Children’s Ward of District Headquarters Hospital Tank has raised serious questions about the availability of medical staff and administrative supervision at the hospital.

In the video, an attendant of a patient can be heard speaking in Pashto and claiming that he brought his patient to the Children’s Ward but, despite waiting for two hours, neither a doctor nor a nurse was present.

The video also shows an apparently empty counter and beds in the Children’s Ward, prompting concerns among citizens regarding the functioning of the hospital, availability of medical staff and timely provision of treatment to patients. However, the claims made in the video could not be independently verified.

The patient’s attendant also questioned elected representatives, saying that people had voted for MNAs and MPAs with the expectation that healthcare facilities in the area would improve, asking who would now be responsible for improving the condition of the hospital.

Following the circulation of the video on social media, citizens and social circles have expressed concern and called for immediate action by the relevant authorities.

Public representatives and social activists have urged the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief Secretary and senior health authorities to conduct an immediate and surprise inspection of DHQ Hospital Tank.

They demanded that the attendance of doctors, nurses and other medical staff, duty rosters and the availability of healthcare facilities in all wards be thoroughly reviewed.

The citizens further called for the hospital to be made fully functional in practical terms rather than merely being upgraded on paper, with the presence of medical staff ensured in all wards and patients provided timely, quality and dignified healthcare services.