Hospitals’ control

In a widely welcome move, the federal government has restored control of the Sindh government over three major public-sector hospitals in Karachi — Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, and National Institute of Child Health. Under the 18^th Amendment, the subject of health had been devolved to the provincial governments. However, last year the federal government had taken control of the three hospitals, increasing tensions with the provincial government. In his last visit to Sindh’s capital, the PM had held talks with the Sindh CM over issues, including the inspector general of police and the administrative control of these hospitals. The CM claimed that the PM had told him that the Centre would not be able to run these hospitals and had given the go-ahead to the Sindh government to run the JPMC, NICVD, and NICH. The Sindh health minister has rightly hailed the decision, because it is in line with decentralisation, which is the underlying spirit of the 18^th Amendment.

The 18^th Amendment was one of the significant achievements of the previous PPP-led federal government. Health was one of the spheres that had been facing issues due to centralisation. Decentralisation has largely mitigated the issues, including delays and red tape involved in getting approval from Islamabad. Before the 18^th Amendment, there was a general complaint in provinces about delays in making decisions with regard to government hospitals and their affiliated medical colleges. Red tape caused delays in procurement of medicines and surgical items, and in matters of appointment and promotion. Those in the know of things used to complain that approval from Islamabad was necessary even for procurement of small surgical items. The 18^th Amendment has eliminated delays in decision-making. We welcome the Centre’s decision about the three major hospitals in Sindh. We also expect efficient handling of these hospitals where patients from other provinces also seek treatment. 

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

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