KP to outsource more hospitals in remote districts

PESHAWAR: A meeting held with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Khan Gandapur here on Monday discussed outsourcing more hospitals and health units in remote districts of the province.

The meeting also discussed reforms in the health sector besides expansion of the free treatment facilities under the Sehat Card Scheme by including more public and private hospitals in panel.

“In the light of the provincial cabinet’s decision, the meeting deliberated on outsourcing additional hospitals through the Health Foundation, directing the Health Department to present proposals for outsourcing more hospitals under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model by next month,” said a handout issued on Monday.

It was decided in principle to simplify the existing complicated process of hospital outsourcing by making necessary amendments to relevant legal framework, further deciding to constitute a steering committee under the chairmanship of the chief minister to streamline the entire process of outsourcing.

The chief minister directed the quarters concerned to convene a meeting of the concerned policy board in order to approve the inclusion of hospitals in the Sehat Card Scheme. However, he made it clear that no compromise should be made on the laid down criteria for hospitals.

Special attention should be given to the distance between hospitals and population, aiming to ensure that at least one hospital at tehsil level was on the panel of Sehat Card scheme, he added.

The chief minister directed the Finance Department to immediately clear the dues to ensure the resumption of healthcare services in these hospitals as soon as possible.

The meeting also decided, in principle, to provide free medicines to children suffering from hemophilia in collaboration with Roche Pharmaceuticals Company. The cost of these free medicines will be shared equally by the provincial government and Roche Pharmaceuticals Company.