‘Budget issues’: Govt sits on plan to transfer dozens of public hospitals to NGOs

Officials had announced that over 50 public health facilities would be handed over to NGOs this budget year

KARACHI:

The provincial government continues to sit on its plans to hand over the administration of over 50 public hospitals to NGOs. More than half the year has passed but not even a single health facility has been transferred.

A formal ceremony regarding the handover of the administration of hospitals in rural areas as part of the public-private partnership initiative was held at Chief Minister House on March 18, 2015, and was attended by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah.





It was decided that the health department will hand over the hospitals in July but due to issues with budget allocations but the process was delayed till October.

Owing to red-tape, the future of the hospitals, their staff and lives of thousands of patients are at stake. The NGOs are also worried over the apathetic attitude of the Sindh government.

"The Punjab government promises one day and implements the very next day," said Dr Akhtar Aziz, director at Indus Hospital, when comparing the modus operandi of the two provincial governments regarding the issue.

Aziz said the Sindh health department approached Indus Hospital two years ago and a formal agreement was then inked in March 2015. The provincial government has signed an agreement with Indus Hospital to look after Civil Hospital, Badin. But, he added, the budget has not been released yet and without finances, they cannot run the hospitals' affairs.



Under the plan, NGOs will be given funds by the government to run hospital affairs, including hiring staff against vacant positions. Apart from Indus Hospital, the Sindh health department has also signed an agreement with the Health And Nutrition Development Society (HANDS) and Integrated Health Services and Merlin, an international health charity, while the Aman Foundation will provide ambulance services in districts Thatta and Sujawal.

HANDS Pakistan Chief Executive Dr Shaikh Tanveer Ahmed said the health department has yet to issue the required administrative and financial notifications. "We are constantly in touch with senior government officials but the matter is being delayed on one pretext or the other," he said.

A total of 42 hospitals are being handed over to HANDS, including the District Headquarters Hospital Khairpur Mirs. Nadeem Wagan, general manager advocacy at HANDS, said the reason of delaying transfer of money was beyond his understanding.



The organisations' heads complain of a lack of will on part of the Sindh government to hand over the hospitals. However, Sindh health secretary Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo has another argument. "The reason for the delay is the approval from the chief minister and budget allocation," he said, adding that "The paper work is done and we'll formally hand over the hospitals to the NGOs soon."

According to Dr Mohsin Mustafa, strategy health manager at Aman Foundation, his organisation has to provide 25 ambulances in two districts, Thatta and Sujawal, in the first phase. "We are waiting for the money to be transferred," he said, adding that according to the agreement, all the ambulances will be on the road within six months after the funds are transferred.



Clarifying reservations

On the other hand, hospital staff in Thatta and Badin regularly protests against the public-private partnership. Employees allege that the health department has completely privatised hospitals of the province.

"We are not selling hospitals to any organisation," clarified the health secretary, Mangnejo. "It is a joint venture and we want to improve health facilities," he claimed.

He said they [public hospital management] are not very efficient in providing quality healthcare to citizens. "We can withdraw the agreement if they improve their managerial skills in the coming years," he explained.

Officials sources told The Express Tribune that the health department has recently written a letter to the finance department to transfer the funds to different organisations.

"I hope the money will be transferred by next week," Mangnejo anticipated.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2016.