Capital to have 13 more primary health centres

A plan has been devised to establish 13 more health centres known as primary health centres in the federal capital territory (ICT) to cater to the needs of the growing population.

The Islamabad District Health Office (DHO) office has sent a summary to the health ministry seeking sanctioning 358 posts of medical officers to be posted in these health facilities to be set up mostly in far-flung and rural areas of the Islamabad Capital Territory

According to Islamabad DHO Zaeem Zia, 850 lady health workers will be appointed under the universal health coverage mandate this year. He said that the establishment of 13 new medical centres in urban and rural areas aimed at lessening the burden of patient load on the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science and Polyclinic hospitals, which bear the brunt of patients from the ICT, the suburban areas and other cities including from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan suffering from normal diseases

He said that the primary health centres will be established in rural areas including Tarnool, Shah Allaha Ditta, Pind Bhagiwal, Gokina and other remote areas and thousands of patients will have access to medical facilities close to their homes. He said that these centres will have gynaecologists, paediatricians, medical and E&T specialists as well so that they did not have to travel to the city for medical treatment.

It should be remembered that Islamabad has failed to set examples for other cities in terms of providing better health care facilities to its citizens. Currently, there is an acute shortage of public hospitals to cater to the needs of poor patients coming not only from Islamabad but also from as far off as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

In the rural set-up, basic healthcare units and rural healthcare centres are in pathetic conditions.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2022.