11 outsourced hospitals face funds shortage

Last year only four hospitals were provided with quarterly funds

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) health department has demanded Rs422 million for the out-sourced hospitals being run under public-private partnership mode in the province that are faced with severe funds shortage.

Official sources told The Express Tribune that currently 11 such hospitals are faced with severe shortage of funds and in the newly merged districts some of the hospitals were not even issued with routine quarterly funds last year.

“The provincial government released funds to just four hospitals of Orakzai and Waziristan tribal districts and others didn’t get money as planned,” said an official, adding that 19 hospitals are being run under public-private partnership in the province out of which 11 are in difficult situation.

As per the estimates Rs1,160 million are required to run 15 hospitals smoothly.

Now health department has constituted a committee which will carry out an assessment and then submit its report.

“The finance department has already showed it willingness to release Rs211 million in this regard. The health foundation has already started working on audit procedures to assess the efficiency of these hospitals, funds audit and the timely release of funds and will submit its recommendations which will be sent to the government,” said the official.

Cancer treatment

The government has introduced free cancer treatment in Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC).

Free OPD services will be launched in Mardan as a pilot project.

The provincial government has already announced Dr Ijaz as the in charge of Cancer Program.

Sources said that previously HMC was the focal centre for free cancer treatment in the province where the ANP government launched the free blood cancer treatment project and patients from across the province were provided free medicines there.

“Last year in June the three-year project successfully completed its tenure and the government has signed an MoU with a medicine company in which the latter has 93 per cent shares,” said an official, adding that now it has already been decided to include this project in the sehat saholat scheme.

“The health department has already submitted a PC-1 of more than Rs3 billion to the finance department for approval and committees have been formed to buy cancer medicines and look into other matters,” added the official.

He said that these committees had started evaluation for commercial bidding and tenders could be floated this month.

“Despite the completion of the project, around 1,130 patients from across the province are being provided with free medicine from the available stock,” maintained the official, adding that still one vital medicine could not be purchased and 150 patients are without it.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2023.