K-P reviews penalties for outsourced hospitals

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Department has initiated discussions to increase fines on private organisations managing outsourced government hospitals amid complaints of poor performance and administrative lapses, officials and sources told The Express Tribune.

Under the existing public-private partnership (PPP) model overseen by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Foundation, partner organisations are currently liable to pay a penalty equivalent to 10 per cent of their total budget for failing to meet contractual obligations, particularly in staff attendance and delivery of essential medical services.

The Health Foundation has outsourced 19 hospitals across the province to experienced private entities and non-governmental organisations. The government releases quarterly funds based on performance verified by monitoring committees that include representatives from the health department, district administration and the Foundation. Regular monitoring is conducted to ensure compliance.

Sources indicated that the department has received multiple complaints from district health officers regarding substandard services in several outsourced facilities. Issues include frequent staff shortages, unavailability of medicines and equipment, and disruptions caused by protests and strikes by medical personnel. Patients have also expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of care, particularly in remote districts where these hospitals were outsourced to address longstanding performance deficits and improve service delivery.

The original aim of the outsourcing initiative was to revitalise underperforming public hospitals in far-flung areas by leveraging private sector expertise in management, specialist recruitment, equipment installation and maintenance.