PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has planned to enforce a law to ensure quick response to medical emergencies and prevent and control spread of diseases through surveillance to effectively deal with the current and emerging public health issues.

The proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Health Act being vetted by the law department before its presentation in the provincial assembly is meant to strength disease detection through a reporting system and to give quick response to medical emergencies.

It calls for the establishment of health emergency system to respond to outbreaks and epidemics.

Under the proposed law, the public health officials, local and provincial health authorities, line departments, local governments and others with tools will be authorised to respond to public health emergencies.

Law dept vetting proposed KP Public Health Act

Also, they’re empowered to get modern information gathering abilities, carrying out inspections as well as issuing instructions for taking elaborate measures necessary to respond to public health emergencies.

The proposed law strengthens the inspection and enforcement powers of health officials and thus, enabling them to monitor and ensure compliance with the Act, enter places, engage the assistance of respective officials, and obtain warrants and court orders.

It also enables health professionals to legally advise community on taking pertinent preventive measures to control a health hazard.

The plan covers surveillance of diseases, reporting, and declaration of health emergency and repeated instructions by Supreme Court about occupational health safety through a mechanism to set standards for occupational health hazards and then compensation.

It provides for compensation to employees for death and injuries in professional work. In case of injury or death of an employee working, the court, in addition to any other penalty under this law, shall direct the firm to give penalty not less than Rs5milion and prison sentence not exceeding 10 years.

Those receiving injuries in the line of duty will be entitled to compensation not less than Rs1 million.

Under the proposed law, if the offence causes the death or injury to a person including an employee, the aggrieved person or the employee may also file a complaint in the court to seek compensation.

The WHO recommends the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) through legislation and strengthening surveillance and improvement in the existing laws related to human health and wants the provinces to review Public Health Act 2010 and make their own laws after devolution of powers.

KP happens to be the first province to draft a legal framework.

The IHR requires developing core capacities for rapid detection and response to medical emergencies through diseases’ surveillance, laboratories and risk communication.

KP will work in unison with the federal government, UN agencies and donor organisations to tackle health issues and give quick services to people receiving injuries in terrorism-related incidents.

The strengthening of local infrastructure and development of systems to detect, prevent and contain outbreaks is also at the centre of the programme.

Under the proposed law, a public health task force under the supervision of the health minister will help implement the law through the district administration and officials of the relevant departments and nazims to ensure manpower, machinery, transportation, equipment and funds to cope with emergencies in their respective areas.

The task force will revoke the previous order of declaration of emergency when situation become normal.

There will be the Provincial Disease Surveillance Centre to collect, receives and exchange information with the district disease surveillance cells to know about the trend of diseases.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2017