Peshawar - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has decided in principle to expand the free treatment facilities under the Sehat Card Scheme by including more public and private hospitals in the Sehat Card panel. He directed the relevant authorities to immediately convene a meeting of the concerned policy board to grant final approval for the inclusion of hospitals that meet the quality standards of the Sehat Card Scheme.
However, he made it clear that no compromise should be made on the established criteria for hospitals in this regard. Special attention should be given to the distance between hospitals and the population, ensuring that at least one hospital at the tehsil level is included in the Sehat Card Scheme panel, he directed.
He issued these directives while chairing a meeting of the provincial Health Department held on Monday. The meeting was attended by Advisor to the Chief Minister on Health, Ehtesham Ali, Additional Chief Secretary for Planning and Development, Ikramullah, Secretary Health, Adeel Shah, and senior officials from the Health Department and its subsidiary organizations, including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Foundation and Sehat Card Plus.
The meeting thoroughly discussed the empanelment of more hospitals under the Sehat Card Scheme, the outsourcing of hospitals in remote districts, reforms in the health sector, and other related matters. The meeting also reviewed the financial dues and other relevant matters concerning already outsourced public hospitals in certain districts of the province.
The Chief Minister directed the Finance Department to immediately clear the outstanding dues to ensure the resumption of healthcare services in these hospitals as soon as possible.
In line with the provincial cabinet’s decision, the meeting also deliberated on outsourcing additional hospitals through the Health Foundation. The Health Department was directed to present proposals for outsourcing more hospitals under the Public-Private Partnership model by next month.
It was decided in principle to simplify the existing, complicated process of hospital outsourcing by making necessary amendments to the relevant legal framework. Additionally, it was decided to form a steering committee, chaired by the Chief Minister, to streamline the entire outsourcing process.
The meeting also decided in principle to provide free medicines to children suffering from haemophilia in collaboration with Roche Pharmaceuticals. The cost of these free medicines will be shared equally by the provincial government and Roche Pharmaceuticals.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chief Minister emphasised that providing healthcare services at the local level to residents of remote areas is a priority for the incumbent provincial government. Efforts are being made to strengthen basic healthcare centres. The outsourcing of hospitals under the Public-Private Partnership model has already yielded promising results, and this process will be further improved to ensure the provision of quality healthcare services to residents of far-flung areas, he added. In addition to strengthening healthcare facilities at the grassroots level, efforts are underway to improve the service delivery mechanism under the Sehat Card Scheme and at teaching hospitals. He expressed confidence that these initiatives would bring about a visible change in the health sector in the near future.
