PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday hinted at granting autonomy to government hospitals in the province for better patient care.

“The hospitals will continue to be the government’s property but they will be run by their respective managements,” he told a meeting at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Speaker of the provincial assembly Asad Qaisar, law minister Imtiaz Shahid, health minister Shahram Khan Tarakai, education minister Atif Khan, revenue minister Ali Amin Gandapur, public health minister Shah Farman, information minister Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, provincial director-general (health services) Dr Waheed Burki, MPAs Fazal Ilahi and Zareen Riaz, MNA Hamidul Haq, PTI provincial secretary general Khalid Masood, a group of US-based doctors, members of Insaf Doctors Forum and senior government doctors from the province.

The doctors apprised the PTI chief about their problems and issued regarding service, especially on private practice, and gave suggestions for their resolution.

Imran Khan said the provincial government led by his party would thoroughly examine the doctors’ suggestions for incorporation in the proposed healthcare commission act approved by the cabinet on Monday. He said it had been the mission of the PTI government to improve health and education facilities in the province.

Asks govt to consult doctors on proposed healthcare commission act

The PTI chief said he was opposed to accumulation of all powers in one person or entity.

He said the secret behind development in the west was decentralisation of powers as it helped resolve the people’s problems, especially on health and education, at grassroots level.

Imran Khan said most of the people had considered the establishment of Shaukat Khanum cancer hospital and provision of free treatment to patients to be impossible but he made all that possible by strong determination and hard work as he wanted to serve the people.

He said unannounced visits won’t help improve services at government hospitals.

“Our health sector needs reforms. Only reforms can make the health sector function well,” he said.

The PTI chairman said the provincial government would empower the managements of its hospitals as without doing so, improvement in things at those facilities won’t happen.

He said in future, the managements of hospitals would have powers to hire or fire members of staff.

Imran Khan asked the health minister to consult doctors on the proposed health act for improvement in the draft bill.

He also said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was a province with little resources, so it couldn’t meet the expenses caused by the presence of three million people displaced from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

“It’s unfortunate that the federal government is reluctant to cooperate with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for the better management of displaced people,” he said.

The PTI chief said the provincial government had planned to recruit policemen from among IDPs for deployment in Bannu and other districts hosting displaced people.

He also said the government had decided to go to the Supreme Court to claim due constitutional and legal rights denied by the centre, especially funds.

APP adds: Imran Khan told a ‘consultative seminar with senior doctors on the proposed health act’ in the provincial capital that the provincial government had imposed emergency in education and health sectors to cater to the people’s health and education needs.

“Majority of the people’s problems are related to education and health sectors,” he said.

The PTI chief said the current healthcare system had failed to deliver to the disappointment of both doctors and people and therefore, the time had come to make necessary legislation on it in consultation with doctors.

Imran Khan said it was his mission from day one to bring improvement in education and health sectors as he believed no system could work unless its affairs were properly managed.

He said the provincial government had drafted the best local government act under which all development funds would be doled out to the people’s representatives at the grassroots level.

The PTI chief accused the PML-N-led federal government of trying to fail the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government by stalling its development plans in the province.

He alleged that the federal government wanted to stall power projects in Swat and Chitral being initiated by PTI-led government.

“Chief Minister Pervez Khattak will move the Supreme Court for legal and constitutional rights if the federal government continues to deny the province its due rights and withhold its outstanding funds,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 19th , 2014