<p>JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Seven private hospitals have been closed down in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, for failing to get operating licences and providing substandard services, an official said on Monday.</p>
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<p>Public <a href="/en/health" class="glossify-link">Health</a> Director Dr Najibullah Kamawal told Pajhwok Afghan News of the 13 hospitals in the province, six were operating without licences. Another one failed to provide standard services.</p>
<p>The closed hospitals are Umar Kamali, Aimal Surgery, Al-Shifa, Aryana, Danishmal, Aryana Nangarhar, Bakhtar Nangarhar and Nasiri.</p>
<p>Four private hospitals were praised for good performance and another asked to improve its services, Kamawal said, adding some foreign doctors had also failed to get permission from the government.</p>
<p>He suspected miscreants wounded in clashes with security personnel and other incidents were treated at these hospitals.</p>
<p>Some doctors doing two jobs simultaneously was another issue that should be investigated and resolved, Kamawal stressed.</p>
<p>Pajhwok tried to talk with officials of the closed hospitals, but they refused to comment.</p>
<p>A resident of Jalalabad alleged private hospitals were involved in illegal activities, including abortions. He welcomed the decision and said: “These hospitals should be checked every month.”</p>
<p>A resident of Behsud district, Naveed Ahmad, complained some private hospitals and clinics in the province provided substandard services.</p>
<p>“I took my father to three different clinics and each came up with different diagnostic findings. This led to serious deterioration in his health condition,” he said.</p>
<p>mds/mud</p>
