January 19, 2006	Thursday	Zilhaj 18, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 18: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad on Wednesday ordered devising of five-year comprehensive plan for ensuring availability of better healthcare facilities in primary, secondary and tertiary hospitals in the province.

He was chairing a meeting at Governor’s House to review affairs pertaining to medical varsities of the province and health sector. Dr Masood Hamid and Dr Jan Muhammad Memon, vice-chancellors of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), Karachi and Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro, respectively, Sindh Health Secretary Dr Naushad Sheikh, Principal Secretary Salim Khan, Additional Secretary Aftab Lodhi and other officials attended the meeting.

Dr Ibad said that healthcare facilities could be provided to common man in better way if available resources and amount was properly managed. He stressed the need for devising such a system that people could get first aid treatment at the hospitals nearer to their home and they would be referred to secondary and tertiary hospitals only in case of complicated diseases. He said such a system would reduce the burden on large hospitals and they could perform their actual function effectively.

The governor emphasized the need for improvement of basic health units, rural health centres and district hospitals.

The meeting decided that as a pilot project, an administrative unit comprising three BHUs would be set up each in six districts of interior Sindh and doctors and other staff of these units would be given special incentives and provided with resources. This administrative setup would help in overlooking of all BHUs of the district and people would get better healthcare facilities, the meeting observed.

Dr Ibad directed the officials concerned to create administrative cadre for doctors in health department, pay stipend regularly to under-training doctors of CPSP and increase monthly stipend to Rs10,000 from Rs6,000 for diploma.

He stressed the need for making RHCs functional and directed health officials to cooperate with local governments in this regard and hold meeting to review the situation of BHUs.

He also got apprised of headway in measures being taken for setting up hospital management boards, medico-legal system reforms and improvement in blood transfusion system. In this regard, he sought detailed report within a week.

The governor also directed initiation of residential schemes for the staff of both universities as well as health department employees. He asked the provincial health secretary to take necessary measures in this regard in deliberation with the Board of Revenue officials. —PPI