Illegal health facilities: K-P to stiffen penalties

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to increase existing penalties and jail terms  for private illegal, unregistered and substandard healthcare setups.

The government has also decided to ensure that no healthcare setup, such as hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, clinics, maternity centres and dental clinics, will be established without the prior approval of the Health Care Commission (HCC).

This was decided in a HCC meeting with Senior Minister Health Shahram Khan Tarakai in the chair on Wednesday.

It was agreed in the meeting to develop online mapping of all private health care setups across the province to effectively monitor them and was decided to initiate the process from the provincial capital.

The chair directed HCC high-ups to complete the draft of amendments needed in the HCC Act and its rules and regulations to maximise the penalties for illegal healthcare setups.

He directed authorities to initiate the performance audit of the public sector autonomous hospitals in the province.

The meeting was briefed about actions HCC has so far taken against such healthcare setups.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2017.