PESHAWAR: The Sehat Sahulat Programme has boosted up institution-based practice and improved services at public sector medical teaching institutions of the city besides benefiting the poor patients, who get free treatment under it, according to officials.

The programme started by provincial government in January has also led to enhancement of services at the public sector hospitals as Hayatabad Medical Complex has started bypass operations for cardiac patients that were not done previously.

The hospital had got full-fledged facilities for treatment of heart patients but it offered angiography and angioplasty services to the people so far.

Earlier this month, it began bypass surgery for heart patients due to the administration’s interest to facilitate the people holding Sehat Insaf Card under which the government pays Rs289,000 per patient to the hospital.

Officials say the programme also gives boost to institution-based practice

“Under the programme, 70,000 patients have been treated so far at a cost of Rs1.70 billion. About 57 per cent of them were poor heart patients,” officials said. The Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), where full-fledged cardiac facilities exist, has been receiving bulk of heart patients seeking treatment under the programme.

Officials said that after LRH, most cardiac patients were seen and operated upon at the private hospitals. They said that they improved services to be able to earn money from the Sehat Sahulat Programme.

Officials said that the institution-based practice was started in evening shift in which the patients were seen by consultants on payment.

They said that Khyber Teaching Hospital received about 8000 patients in IBP and half of them were treated under the SSP. They said that it led to improvement of services in the hospitals. “The patients, who were formerly sent outside for certain investigation, are now getting the same at the hospitals,” they added.

Officials said that IBP and SSP also proved a blessing for general patients, who were also among the beneficiaries of the upgraded services. Initially, the patients possessing Sehat Insaf Cards were treated in general wards at the public sector hospitals but later it was realised that those paying patients affected the ones, who were admitted to general wards from outpatients department, they said.

“Therefore, the public sector hospitals decided to examine the SSP patients in IBP so they cannot disturb the general patients. In the morning shift, the hospitals are treating only general patients while those coming on SIC go to IBP where they are seen by consultants in the evening,” said officials.

They said that LRH had so far received 20,000 patients in IBP including 5,000 on SIC. The HMC has also received 4,000 SIC-holders in IBP.

There are other surgical and diagnostic procedures, which were started after the launch of IBP and SSP at the public sector hospitals.

Officials said that government wanted the public sector hospitals to get lion’s share in the amount allocated for SSP for which it had designated about 110 hospitals, both public and private.

The stat-run hospitals are in the process of upgradation of services to be able to lure more patients and benefit from the programme.

The hospitals receive the amount spent on the treatment of SSP patients at the end of every month which is boosting up their financial status.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2017