K-P to start free OPD service on Sehat Card

Pilot project starts in four districts of province

PESHAWAR:

In yet another first, free OPD checkup has been started on the Sehat Insaf Card for patients in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's four districts including Mardan.

Official sources told The Express Tribune that the German aid organization KFW has provided financial support for the free OPD service. According to Health Department, OPD services will be introduced in the four districts of Mardan, Kohat, Malakand and Chitral under a pilot project for which all the preparations have been completed.

A total of 4.9 million euros has been allocated for this facility. OPD services will be initially started from Mardan and later it will be extended to all the remaining three districts. The agreement has been reached for the implementation of the agreement.

Health Card Program and State Life Insurance Corporation have also signed the agreement for the project. On this occasion, the agreement was signed in presence of Health Advisor Ihtesham Ali and Secretary Health Adeel Shah. Ihtesham Ali said that the phase one agreement between German government agency KFW and K-P government was signed in 2016 for IPD service in these districts.

Free treatment on health card was initially introduced in these four districts. On the success of phase one, the government extended IPD services to the entire province.

Now in phase two, free OPD services are being launched as a pilot project in four districts of the province with the support of KFW.

Health Advisor added that free OPD services will be provided to the patients under this project. The total cost of the project is 9.4 million euros.

In this project, 90 per cent of the funds will be provided by the German government and 10 per cent by the provincial government.

An estimated 120,000 families of four districts will benefit from this project. He said that on the success of this project, it will be extended to the entire province.

One public and one private clinic will be selected at the Union Council level for project launching.

Advisor to K-P Chief Minister on Health, Ihtisham Ali, last month said that in September Rs4.5 billion has been released to the State Life Insurance Corporation under Sehat Insaf Card.

He dismissed media reports regarding the suspension of free treatment services under the Sehat Insaf Card at some hospitals due to outstanding dues.

He clarified that the Sehat Card remained fully functional at all hospitals on its panel.

Ihtisham Ali emphasized that the reports about the suspension of Sehat Card services at certain hospitals are baseless.

He assured the public that the Sehat Card service would not be discontinued as long as he was in office. He acknowledged that while there are outstanding dues under the program, payments are being made continuously.