The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has taken another unique initiative to ensure universal health coverage by including free OPD (Outpatient Department) services under the Sehat Card Plus scheme.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has formally inaugurated the free OPD services at a ceremony held at the Chief Minister House on Wednesday.
Members of the provincial cabinet, national and provincial assemblies, and Health Department officials attended the ceremony.
The OPD scheme is being launched as a pilot project in Mardan district, benefiting 50,000 deserving households. In the second phase, the scheme will be extended to Chitral, Malakand, and Kohat districts.
Under this scheme, medications, medical tests, and healthcare services will be provided free-of-cost.
The pilot project is being launched in collaboration with the German organization KfW and will be further expanded in the future.
Based on the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) data, approximately 120,000 deserving households from the four mentioned districts will benefit from this facility.
Free OPD services will be available not only at hospitals already on the Sehat Card panel but also at all Basic Health Units (BHUs) and Rural Health Centers (RHCs) at the Union Council level.
Notably, K-P has become the first province to provide free OPD services under the Sehat Card Plus.
Addressing the event, the chief minister stated, "I take pride in the fact that my leader's vision is of a welfare state, and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is committed to realizing it."
He highlighted that the PTI government had expanded the Sehat Card from a limited-scale initiative to a province-wide program.
Previously, free treatment under the Sehat Card was only available for admitted patients, but now OPD patients will also receive free healthcare, he added.
Regarding the pilot project, he emphasized that initially the OPD scheme is being started in four districts, which do not include Dera Ismail Khan, and this is clear proof that he is the chief minister of the entire province.
He pointed out that in the past, development projects were concentrated in the chief minister's home district, but that will no longer happen.
The chief minister noted that during the caretaker government's tenure, the Sehat Card program was nearly shut down, but his administration revived it and increased service rates under the program while still achieving monthly savings of one billion rupees due to efficient monitoring and transparency.
He further stated that before his government, 70 per cent of Sehat Card treatments were conducted in private hospitals, but they have improved the quality of public hospitals and restored public trust, and now 70 per cent of treatments take place in government hospitals.
He also announced the establishment of Cardiac Satellite Centers in different regions of the province for heart disease treatment.
Additionally, he highlighted new social welfare initiatives, including marriage assistance for 4,000 deserving girls, where the government will cover wedding expenses and provide Rs10,000 as dowry.
Furthermore, he introduced a Life Insurance Scheme under which, in case of the death of a person under sixty years of age, their heirs will receive Rs1 million, whereas if a person over sixty years passes away, their heirs will be provided with Rs500,000.
1729418090-0/jlo-(5)1729418090-0-165x106.webp "article")
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ