Peshawar  -  The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has placed over 400 government and private hospitals in the panel list of the landmark Sehat Card plus programme to provide free treatment to patients to the tune of Rs1 million per family per year.

These hospitals were placed in all seven administrative divisions including Hazara, Malakand, Peshawar, Bannu, D.I. Khan, Kohat and Mardan, officials in KP Health Department said. 

The hospitals were selected on basis of better infrastructure, equipment, human resources and quality healthcare facilities following inauguration of Sehat Plus Card in D.I. Khan district by KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on February 1.

Khyber Pakthunkhwa has become the first province of Pakistan where free healthcare services have been extended to the entire population.

In the third and final phase of initiation of the services in Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Lakki Marwat, DI Khan, Tank and Bannu districts by the Chief Minister, the process of extending free medical, surgical and diagnostic services up to Rs1 million per year to each family of over 40 million inhabitants under free universal health coverage has successfully been completed in KP. In D.I. Khan, more than 300,000 poor families would be directly benefited from this programme.

Prior to inauguration of Sehat Card Plus Programme, the project was launched in Malakand, Hazara and Peshawar zones where people had already started availing free treatment facilities under the universal health coverage.

KP government has allocate Rs18 billion in the budget 2020-21 to run the landmark programme successfully and ensure uninterrupted medical services to the masses.

All people having computerised national identity card (CNIC) with KP’s permanent address are entitled for free medical, surgical and diagnostic facilities besides others relevant services at any of the panelled hospitals under the facility.

“Perhaps nobody can feel the pain which I had gone through when I was diagnosed with cancer. I had spent my entire hard-earned money on treatment of the deadly disease. It gave me a sigh of relief to know that now I am entitled for free treatment under PTI government Health Card Plus programme,” said Khurshid Khan, a survivour of cancer, resident of Nowshera.

He said provision of free treatment up to Rs1 million for a cancer patient was a huge amount being extended by the PTI government for which people like me were greatful to the Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Khurshid Khan said Prime Minister Imran Khan had won the hearts and minds of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after extended this programme to the entire population of the province.

Besides cancer patients, kidney transplant, heart and others chronic patients would also get free healthcare services. Meanwhile, Provincial Minister for Finance and Health Taimur Khan Jhagra said that history had been made after KP became the first province to provide free healthcare services to entire population.

He said health insurance to 100 percent population had been provided to all districts of KP and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of providing free health services to all was materialised.

Taimur Jhagra said anti-corona vaccination had formally been started from February 3 after its inauguration by the Chief Minister KP. He said vaccination centres in 280 hospitals had already been established in the province.

KP has initially received 16,000 anti-corona vaccines from the federal government that was being administered to frontline workers of eight districts.

So far, 3,194 health workers were affected and 32 lost battle for life due to coronavirus in KP.

He said 2,484 health workers were imparted training in KP for anti-corona vaccination and in the first phase priorities was being given to frontline health workers. The minister said that 64,113 healthcare workers were already registered for administration of vaccines to patients.