Inefficient practices: Paramedics threaten to shut down health facilities

Demand end of contract with PPHI by Feb 15.

ABBOTABAD: Officials of the Paramedical Association in Hazara division have threatened to shut down all health facilities across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) if the federal government’s decision of scrapping the contract of Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) is not implemented in the province by February 15.

Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, Paramedical Association Hazara division president Qazi Tanveer said the federal government had banned the activities of PPHI across the country, but the provincial government was still adamant on keeping their contract intact.



Tanveer said PPHI took over basic health units (BHU) in different districts of K-P a few years back with the purpose of improving health facilities.

However, he said, the PPHI has failed to fulfil expectations, and instead created problems for the staff and public at large. He disclosed that Rs25 million was annually placed at the disposal of PPHI’s management for medicines in Abbottabad district alone, yet the BHUs remained without medicines.

Appreciating the centre’s decision of abolishing the contract with PPHI, Tanveer demanded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government to meet public demands and put an end to the involvement of non-governmental organisations.

If their demands are not met, paramedics from across K-P would forcibly shut down hospitals from February 16, threatened Tanveer. The responsibility of public suffering would be on the shoulders of the provincial government, he warned.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2014.