Ghor Hospital faces shortage of female physicians

FEROZKOH (Pajhwok): Ailing women and expectant mothers are facing a lot of inconvenience due to a shortage of female doctors in western Ghor province, according to local residents on Saturday.

Susan, 26-year-old resident of Ferozkoh city, who undergone surgery two days ago, said: “I had a tumor in my foot, and I visited the hospital for treatment so I had to attend male doctors due to the shortage of female specialists.”

She added that along with female doctors, the male doctors also were involved in her treatment.

She criticized the lack of female doctors and specialists in the surgery department in this hospital and added: “Hospitals should have qualified doctors and female specialists who can do any kinds of operation because there are some families who don’t want their women’s treatment by male doctors.”

Razia, 28, another woman in Ferozkoh who undergone appendix surgery 15 days ago, said: “I thought that the female doctors will do my surgery but when they took me to the operation room the male doctors did my surgery.”

He called the lack of female specialist doctors in the health centers as unfortunate and said: “Majority of women did not want to attend male doctors due to societal restriction and women have less access to health services.”

Halima, 30, another woman who gave birth last month to her child, told Pajhwok and she could not give birth naturally, so had to undergone surgery but the operation was done by male doctors.”

She said: “I give birth to two babies naturally in the same hospital through midwives, but this child, I don’t know how it happened that I needed an operation, because female doctors unable to proceed the operation.”

Ghor women urge the public health department to hire female doctors and specialists in the health centers of this province so that women can attend them more easily and tell their health problems.

Shukria Azizi, one of the midwives of the provincial hospital, said that only one female doctor and midwife attend to women in this hospital.

He added: “we have many problems in the gynecology and obstetrics ward, we don’t have a specialist doctor, we have few female doctors and the number should be increased to provide better services to the people.

Abdul Ahad Noori, told Pajhwok: “The challenge we have in the provincial hospital is the lack of female doctors, unfortunately, we do not have any female doctors in all our services in the gynecology department and the internal medicine and surgery department and we are facing many problems.”

He added that due to the lack of a gynecologist specialist, all the mothers and women of this province who were facing internal diseases and surgery were treated by male doctors.

“We don’t have a problem in the nurse and midwife department, and there are enough, our main issue is the lack of female doctors and specialists, especially in surgery.”

Sa/nh

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