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       PESHAWAR: Health department asked 33 doctors in Nowshera district to join duty within three days after they were found drawing salaries without performing duty.

       A notification, issued from the office of Nowshera district health officer (DHO), described the doctors as ghost employees as they were found drawing salaries from the government without serving in any of the health facilities falling under his administrative control.

       “Hence, prima-facie they are ghost employees,” said the notification.

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       The DHO said that all of them were directed to report to his office in person within three days of the issuance of the notice, along with proof of their posting/working/service. In case of their failure to comply with the instructions, the district accounts officer of Nowshera will be asked to stop their salaries forthwith.

       DHO directed them to join duty within three days

       The notification said that the salaries paid to ghost employees so far would also be recovered from them and their names would be recommended to government for dismissal/termination from services. Besides, criminal proceedings would also be initiated against them, it added.

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       It also asked all the members of WhatsApp group to inform them, if they were known to anyone.

       Officials in health department told Dawn that it was the policy of government to rationalise postings and transfers.

       They said that all DHOs, medical superintendents, directors and other administrative officers were issued instructions to find out the employees, who were not performing their duty, and those, who were surplus and were not needed, so that they could be posted in areas where their services were required.

       Early this year, the department repatriated 35 doctors from Khyber Institute of Child Health (KICH) as part of the ongoing rationalisation drive to depute staffers to their places of duty and improve patients’ care.

       Ihtisham Ali, adviser to chief minister on health, told Dawn that those doctors had been posted in KICH, which was still under construction, for the past two years. He said that recently they repatriated services of 16 employees, including two doctors, to their parent departments from health department and the repatriation campaign was in progress.

       The CM’s adviser said that in every rural health centre, the department had deployed at average 35 doctors but most of them stayed away from their duty places and worked somewhere else while drawing salaries regularly.

       Last month, a report prepared by additional director-general health services said that during inspection he found that 36 doctors were working at a rural health centre in Regi village of Peshawar where the number of sanctioned positions was 10.

       The additional 26 medics had managed to post themselves in Regi but most of them stayed away from duty, it added.

       The report said that the two female doctors, who were supposed to be present on duty, worked from home and as a result neonates, children and women suffered the most.

       The additional director-general health services had recommended strict action against such employees.

       Officials said that not only doctors but there were nurses, paramedics, clerks and support staffers, who did not perform their primary duty that impacted patients’ care.

       They said that the province had more than 2,550 health facilities including 26 district headquarters (DHQs) hospitals but only 30 per cent of patients visited public sector hospitals mainly owing to shortage of staff despite the fact that the department had more than 60,000 employees.

       Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2025