Rs30m spent on patients under Ehsaas initiative

Ehsaas Tahufaz Programme at HFH now being run on permanent basis

RAWALPINDI:

Around Rs30 million has been spent on the free treatment of deserving patients at Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi since the launch of the pilot project “Ehsaas Tahufaz Programme” last year.

Sources at the hospital said that there was no concept for free treatment of patients at government hospitals including the Holy Family Hospital prior to the start of the Ehsaas Tahufaz Programme by the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.

The sources said that the current Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government also continued the programme and patients undergoing treatment for various diseases at Holy Family Hospital benefitted from it.

Previously, patients had to purchase expensive medicines and testing from private labs but under the programme, not only the medicines were provided to the patients but also several surgeries were carried out.

Since its launch in January 2021 at Holy Family Hospital, it has proved to be a revolutionary programme for patients undergoing treatment who got free medicines, laboratory tests and implants for surgeries.

Under the programme, patients were not only provided with free medicines but also were facilitated to get tests from private laboratories when needed.

Similarly, the sources said that for other surgeries, including orthopaedic surgery, all implanted equipment, which was beyond the scope of the hospital budget, was ensured to be supplied to the hospital by the vendors before operations.

According to hospital sources, the Ehsaas Tahufaz Programme started as a pilot project at Holy Family Hospital was now being run permanently. They said that the programme needed to be extended to other hospitals as well so that a maximum number of patients could benefit from it. They said that it will not only lessen the pressure on the hospitals’ budget but also provide prompt treatment facilities to the patients.

According to sources, patients who cannot afford to buy medicines prescribed by the doctors file a request with the Ehsaas Tahafuz Programme, after which a dedicated team assesses the financial status of the candidates.

A recommendation is then sent to the relevant authorities, who instruct the hospital to purchase the requisite medicine from an approved chemist, whose bill is paid by the Ehsaas Tahafuz Programme.

After taking formal consent from the patients, all-out efforts are made to process approved cases swiftly and to procure the required medicines as soon as possible so that there are no delays in treatments.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2022.