IHRA in dire financial straits

Regulatory body faces difficulty in monitoring health establishments against illegal practices

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) — a regulatory body responsible for regulating healthcare establishments in the Islamabad Capital Territory — has been facing severe financial issues.

Sources at the IHRA said that only 19 per cent of the demanded budget has been given to the regulatory body to pay salaries and meet other expenses.

The sources said that for the current financial year, only Rs68 million funds have been released against the demand of Rs360 million. The sources said that budgetary constraints may take a toll on the overall performance of the regulatory body.

According to the sources, the government had assured the provision of funds to the IHRA, however, due to financial difficulties, a very low budget has been released by the federal government. The sources said that the authority was facing problems in carrying out surveillance of hospitals, medical centres, clinics and laboratories in the federal capital.

According to the sources, the authority has been given the budget for the rent payment of the building and to meet other expenses including staff salaries.

IHRA Chief Executive Officer Dr Quaid Saeed Akhunzada said that several letters have been written to the health ministry regarding the budget difficulties but no response has been received from them.

In response to a question, Dr Akhunzada said that a decision has been taken to collect charges from registered hospitals, and clinics including laboratories and medical centres to meet expenses of the authority. He, however, said that for the slab-wise increase of the existing charges, approval will be obtained from the board.

The IHRA is an autonomous health regulatory body enacted under the Islamabad Health Regulation Act, 2018.

IHRA aims to improve the quality, efficiency and safety of healthcare services delivery by adopting evidence-based regulatory standards for registration and licensing of healthcare establishments, health professionals and equipment, and developing and enforcing minimum standards of safety for patients, healthcare professionals and other staff in healthcare establishments in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

The IHRA is responsible for maintaining a register of all healthcare establishments, setting standards for registration and licencing of healthcare establishments, registering all healthcare establishments, health professionals and equipment, and issuing licenses for defining the scope and extent of healthcare services to be provided by healthcare establishments.

The IHRA is also responsible for regulating healthcare establishments in accordance with minimum service delivery standards and notified practices, preparing and issuing notified practices as a guiding document for service provision in healthcare establishments, and inquiring and investigating into violation of any of the provisions of the Law by any healthcare facility.

Healthcare establishments under IHR Act 2018 are required to get registered with IHRA and implement minimum services delivery standards to acquire a licence to render health services in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2022.