Basic facilities: Health minister blames corruption for K-P’s scant resources

Assures medical staff will be hired to fill all vacant posts by mid-August.

MINGORA:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health Minister Shaukat Yousafzai on Tuesday said the province is not poor, but corruption and unfair distribution of funds has left it deprived of basic facilities.

“When governments are established from taxes paid by the public, addressing their concerns is what the government needs to do,” said the K-P minister while addressing a gathering of doctors and paramedics at Saidu Medical College. Health and education are the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) top priorities and are being looked into with special attention, he added.



Yousafzai announced free treatment for all emergency cases in the casualty unit. The MRI fee was also reduced from Rs3,500 to Rs1,000. “All diagnostic tests will be free of charge and the latest equipment will soon be installed at all basic health units (BHUs) and hospitals in the province,” promised Yousafzai.

The government is changing the policy of the provision of medicines in hospitals; contracts would be given to the one who presents the minimum bid and ensures quality.



By the end of this month, adequate medical staff will be hired to meet the needs of all hospitals, BHUs and dispensaries, he said. “There will be no shortage of staff after August 16 and we have issued advertisements [for hiring] in newspapers.”

MNA Saleemur Rehman, K-P Minister for Sports and Culture Mahmood Khan and other MPAs were also present on the occasion. Later, the health minister visited different wards of Saidu Medical College and inspected the under-construction section of the building.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2013.