Fixed salary doctors at KP HQs unpaid since last year, the association demands immediate release of contributions
PESHAWAR:
Doctors, dental surgeons and medical specialists employed on fixed salary contracts in various district headquarters (DHQ) hospitals in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have not received their salaries for the last five months, plunging them into serious financial difficulties.
These doctors, including those in less attractive specialties like pathology, radiology and anesthesiology, were hired to address long-standing shortages in provincial health facilities. The government had previously announced attractive remuneration and incentives to encourage specialists to work in remote and underserved DHQ hospitals, where attracting qualified staff was a persistent challenge.
According to sources, last year, the health ministry recruited staff to fill vacant posts in several districts. In a key initiative, 115 medical grade 17 posts were announced, with placements made in establishments such as DHQ Lakki Marwat, DHQ Karak, DHQ Landi Kotal, DHQ Upper Dir, DHQ Charsadda and DHQ Battagram. In addition, 21 posts in pathology, radiology and anesthesiology have been filled under a non-permanent consultant program for unattractive specialties in some DHQs, including Mardan, Battagram, Haripur and Upper Dir.
Besides, 30 grade 18 specialist posts have been created with fixed salary in areas such as pediatric surgery, neurology, pulmonology, cardiology, ophthalmology, general medicine, ENT, gynecology, dermatology and nephrology in DHQs of Upper Dir, Haripur, Mardan, Charsadda, Battagram and Landi Kotal.
The fixed salary structure promised competitive remuneration, ranging from Rs170,000 to Rs400,000 per month depending on grade and specialty, with dedicated budgets allocated to hospitals for these payments.
Despite these assurances, doctors have not been paid since the end of last year. The Provincial Doctors Association has officially contacted the Ministry of Health to demand the immediate release of unpaid salaries.
In a strong statement, the association stressed that doctors were selected strictly on the basis of their merits, through rigorous examinations and interviews. “We chose this profession not just for the employment, but with a solemn commitment to protecting the lives of patients, relieving their suffering and honoring their trust,” the statement said.
The doctors highlighted the irony of their situation in the middle of Ramzan, a month symbolizing patience and justice. “We attend hospital emergency rooms, manage life-saving care in intensive care units and spend hours in operating rooms. A doctor who performs his duties after sehri and remains busy in the emergency room until iftar collapses under economic pressure from within,” they said.
The association stressed that although they appear strong, they are also human. “We do not want to strike or abandon patients, this idea is unthinkable. It is not just a question of a few months’ salary, it is a question of confidence, dignity and the future of the profession.”
They warned that neglecting this problem could dissuade young doctors from seeing medicine as a service, but rather as a symbol of insecurity. “A strong and respectable healthcare system is only possible when its pillars, the doctors themselves, are secure.”
