CM for recruitment of locals in NMTDs health facilities

K-P approves Rs100m emergency fund for Coronavirus

PESHAWAR: With residents of the newly merged tribal areas still awaiting better health facilities, the provincial government has directed to ensure that locals are appointed on vacant posts at health facilities of the tribal districts

This was directed by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Tuesday while presiding over a meeting regarding service delivery of the provincial health department.

CM Mahmood said that locals should be given a priority during recruitments in the NMTDs. He directed to ensure the provision of uninterrupted healthcare facilities to residents of the tribal districts.

The chief minister further directed the health department to come up with concrete proposals regarding necessary amendments, wherever necessary, to ensure that quality medicines are procured for healthcare facilities across the province.

The chief minister was briefed that of the 1,171 sanctioned posts in NMTDs, 702 have been filled whereas 469 were currently lying vacant. A Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be signed with the Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency (ETEA) for testing of potential recruits. Once the agreement and tests are in place, district-specific recruitments of locals will be carried out on a priority basis to address the shortage of necessary staff.

Coronavirus scare looms over Karachi

Coronavirus

The chief minister was further informed that an alert has been issued regarding the Novel Coronavirus at hospitals across the province and that Rs100 million have been approved in emergency funds to tackle it.

Apart from setting up isolation wards in Swat and Abbottabad, the police hospital in Peshawar has been declared as an isolated hospital.

Furthermore, passengers are being screened at airports and at all other entry points to the province to ensure that infected people are moved to quarantine first.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2020.