Government aims to expand district-level services and education

Health complexes to offer improved career development to retain staff.

LAHORE:

The government will upgrade district headquarters hospitals and install training facilities there with the aim of retaining healthcare professionals in under-served areas, according to a strategy paper shared with senior professors at the Punjab Health Sector Reforms Conference on Tuesday.

The Health Department paper proposes building ‘district health complexes’ (DHCs) “to deal with issues of access and quality of healthcare” in the province.

“Healthcare services in the Punjab are not equitable,” it reads. “Most recent investment in medical education has been in large cities mainly due to convenience, the presence of supportive infrastructure and profitability for such institutions.”

This, says the strategy paper, has resulted in the concentration of education, training and career advancement opportunities in the big cities, limiting the availability of qualified professionals, and hence quality services, in less developed areas. “Limited professional opportunities … have made retaining health workers there exceedingly difficult,” the document reads.



The DHCs will aim to develop and retain doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and auxiliary services staff, ensuring their availability at public healthcare facilities. “They will increase access … by strengthening the network of public healthcare facilities and enhance quality … by enhancing the capacity of healthcare providers at primary and secondary healthcare facilities,” the document states. The DHCs will be built in phases, with first priority going to “districts requiring investment”, according to the strategy paper. “The district complex will be a service provision, educational and training institution for all health workforce cadres including doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and other health-related trades.”The strategy paper states that district headquarters hospitals will be upgraded to tertiary-level institutions and “act as the nucleus of the complexes”. The upgraded hospitals will meet the teaching and training requirements of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, Pakistan Nursing Council and Punjab Medical Faculty.

Medical colleges

Another part of the strategy will be to establish medical colleges through public-private partnerships in order to train doctors and specialists to meet the shortage of qualified professionals at underserved districts.

Nurse-training institutes will be established by upgrading existing institutes or creating new ones where there are none.

Disease surveillance units will also be set up at the district complexes through linkages with primary and secondary healthcare facilities. These will aim to quickly identify epidemics, such as the ongoing measles or the recent dengue fever outbreaks.

“The DHCs shall improve access and quality of healthcare in underprivileged and disadvantaged areas of the province through the strengthening of public facilities, provision of tertiary-level care close to the targeted communities, and enhanced skills and competence of staff at all levels.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2013.