August 24, 2002	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Saani 14, 1423

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PESHAWAR, Aug 23: The users’ charges have been raised by fifty per cent at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Khyber College of Dentistry and Khyber Medical College, it was learnt here on Friday.

The increase has been made through a circular of Aug 15, issued to the three institutions, according to which except OPD chit and private rooms, the Institutional Management Committee has increased the users’ charges by 50 per cent at all three hospitals with immediate effect.

Some of the departments in these institutions have already begun charging the patients at the increased rates while others are yet to comply with the directives.

The charges of the private rooms remain unchanged as the people have already been paying Rs 500 per day for a private room. Similarly, the patients would continue to pay Rs 5 for OPD chit, which has not been increased, fearing a people’s protest. But the rise in the charges for other services would hit patients.

For instance, the ward admission fee has been raised from Rs 20 to Rs 30 while the fee of Exercise Tolerance Test would go up from Rs 350 to Rs 525. The charges for Echocardiogram would rise from Rs 325 to Rs 525. The operation theatre charges has also gone from Rs 100 to Rs 150.

Perhaps, the decision has been, made to generate more funds after launching institution-based practice in the government’s sector health care centres.

Patients said the rise would not only hit the patients but it would  also financially  affect the investigative departments of  these hospitals as owing to the high charges, the patients would go to private clinics. The rate of the Echocardiogram which has now been fixed at Rs 525 at the KTH, could be done at Rs 450 from an outside clinic. Similarly, the patients would prefer to get X-rays of chest, KUB, IVP, Barium Enema, etc., from the privately-run clinics.

Surprisingly, the NWFP government had allocated  Rs2.935 billion for health sector in the current fiscal year claiming, an increase of 15.18 per cent more than the last year’s allocation. But the increase in users’ charges has negated government’s claim. The government, it may be recalled, had planned to raise an amount of Rs256.660 million from users’ charges.

A doctor at the KTH said the decision would affect the patients’ welfare.

He added that the appointment of high-salaried doctors were responsible for it. Likewise, he claimed, a dozens of doctors had been appointed on administrative posts without any need because three years ago there were two doctors to manage administrative affairs.