PESHAWAR   -  A high-level performance review meet­ing of the Health Department was held under the leadership of Health Adviser Ihtisham Ali to assess the department’s performance.

The meeting was attended by Health Secretary Adeel Shah, Director General Health Services Dr Saleem, Additional DGs, Director of the Independent Mon­itoring Unit (IMU) Dr Ejaz, and all Dis­trict Health Officers (DHOs).

During the meeting, the performance of DHOs was evaluated in areas in­cluding daily outpatient department (OPD) visits at Basic and Rural Health Centers, availability of medicines, func­tionality of medical equipment, and the overall management and cleanliness of healthcare facilities.

Health Adviser Ihtisham Ali empha­sized that the performance review meetings will now be held monthly to ensure continuous monitoring and im­provement. The agenda of these meet­ings will focus on reviewing various health-related initiatives and assessing the way forward.

Key focus areas highlighted included the provision of essential medicines, establishment of Basic Emergency and Neonatal Care Centers, effective utili­zation of human resources, improve­ment of immunization coverage, and activation of Primary Care Manage­ment Committees.

The Health Adviser stressed that any DHO or Medical Superintendent (MS) whose hospital sees a decline in OPD patients will no longer be allowed to remain in their position. He stated, “Free access to medicines is every citi­zen’s fundamental right, and it is the re­sponsibility of the DHOs to ensure that every patient visiting a Basic Health Unit (BHU) receives the prescribed medicines free of cost.” He noted that while 40% of the ordered medicines have been delivered, the remaining medicines must be made available as soon as possible.

Health Secretary Adeel Shah direct­ed the DHOs to expedite the procure­ment of medicines ordered in June and investigate any delays. He instructed that suppliers who fail to deliver with­in 90 days should be blacklisted. “The funds have already been released, and the drugs cleared by the Drug Testing Lab must be immediately supplied to the health facilities,” he added. He also emphasized the need for prompt ac­tion against chronically absent medi­cal staff.

During the meeting, the Director of IMU presented a detailed review of re­gional and district performance. Ac­cording to the provincial scorecard for September, the average daily OPD at Basic Health Units (BHUs) was 20 patients, while Rural Health Centers (RHCs) saw an average of 68 patients daily. The availability of 20 essen­tial medicines stood at 51%, medical equipment functionality at 91%, ad­ministrative structure functionality at 81%, and cleanliness at 71%.

It was noted that OPD performance improved in the central and southern regions, while there was a noticeable decline in the Hazara and Malakand re­gions. The availability of 90 essential medicines across the province was re­corded at 40%, while the availability of Medical Officers was at 63%.

In September, 356 Medical Officers were found absent. All hospitals have now activated their Primary and Hos­pital Management Committees, with funds amounting to 87 million rupees available in these committees. Addi­tionally, over 1,400 deliveries were conducted at Basic Health Units in September.