Regional blood centre resumes operations
Staff likely to be regularised next week
PHOTO: REUTERS
PESHAWAR:
After remaining closed for a short period earlier this month, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) only Regional Blood Centre (RBC) has resumed operations.
Work restarted after a court directed the health department to regularise staff at the centre.
On June 30, contracts of staff at the centre expired after completion of their five-year terms. Since the government failed to extend the contracts, employees were uncertain about their future.
K-P’s lone regional blood centre shuts down
As a result, work at the centre was suspended for nearly a week, causing immense problems for hospitals. The RBC supplies blood components to tertiary hospitals in the city free of cost.
A state-of-the-art facility, the RBC had been set up with assistance from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German bank, at a cost of Rs190 million. The centre was later handed over to the provincial government and has facilitated 6,000 patients with blood components from January 1 until the expiry of the employees’ contract.
On July 7, health department officials directed RBC Project Manager Dr Tahir Khan to contact employees and urge them to resume duties and assured them that the health department was considering regularising all RBC staffers.
“Yes, we have received court orders and will be notifying the staff members as regular RBC employees next week,” a senior health official said as he asked not to be named since he was not entitled to speak to media.
He added that the health department wanted to regularise staff at the centre since its operations were critical, adding that the RBC has facilitated a large number of patients.
Multan gets new Regional Blood Centre with German grant
The official further said that a large number of people have been donating blood to the centre as well.
Officials said that a second phase of the project, worth Rs385 million, had also been approved which would see similar centres built in Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan and Swat to supply blood components to tertiary care hospitals in these three districts.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 23rd, 2017.
After remaining closed for a short period earlier this month, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) only Regional Blood Centre (RBC) has resumed operations.
Work restarted after a court directed the health department to regularise staff at the centre.
On June 30, contracts of staff at the centre expired after completion of their five-year terms. Since the government failed to extend the contracts, employees were uncertain about their future.
K-P’s lone regional blood centre shuts down
As a result, work at the centre was suspended for nearly a week, causing immense problems for hospitals. The RBC supplies blood components to tertiary hospitals in the city free of cost.
A state-of-the-art facility, the RBC had been set up with assistance from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German bank, at a cost of Rs190 million. The centre was later handed over to the provincial government and has facilitated 6,000 patients with blood components from January 1 until the expiry of the employees’ contract.
On July 7, health department officials directed RBC Project Manager Dr Tahir Khan to contact employees and urge them to resume duties and assured them that the health department was considering regularising all RBC staffers.
“Yes, we have received court orders and will be notifying the staff members as regular RBC employees next week,” a senior health official said as he asked not to be named since he was not entitled to speak to media.
He added that the health department wanted to regularise staff at the centre since its operations were critical, adding that the RBC has facilitated a large number of patients.
Multan gets new Regional Blood Centre with German grant
The official further said that a large number of people have been donating blood to the centre as well.
Officials said that a second phase of the project, worth Rs385 million, had also been approved which would see similar centres built in Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan and Swat to supply blood components to tertiary care hospitals in these three districts.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 23rd, 2017.