K-P to amend services rules for LHWs

The provincial health department has decided to amend the service rules of lady health workers to address the issue of their transfers.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health Department would also seek assistance from the constitutional experts of the department in this regard, a source familiar with the development told The Express Tribune on Saturday.

The provincial government had regularised the services of 13, 000 Lady Health Workers (LHWs) including their support staff, drivers and clerical staff in 2014, who had been working on an ad hoc basis for the last several years.

However, due to some legal glitches, the source said, the LHWs are faced with several problems as they could not benefit from the spouse policy of the service rules.

The LHWs could not be posted to the places of their convenience after getting married and the department has been receiving applications for postings on regular basis, the source informed.

The LHWs have to perform duties in stations other than their hometowns or places that suit them, the source added.

The health department would address the issues to facilitate the LHWs by amending the service rules in their regulation act. This week the provincial government had announced an increase of Rs250 in the honorarium for polio workers.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2020.