PESHAWAR, May 19: Provincial Health Minister Inayatullah has said the devolution plan can prove beneficial for providing quality healthcare to people at the grassroots level if ambiguities and loopholes in the plan are removed. The minister was addressing the closing session of a two-day workshop on National Maternal and Child Health (MCH) at a hotel here.

The health minister said ambiguities and other bottlenecks in the devolution plan must be removed to ensure delivery of better health facilities at the local level.

Mr Inayatullah alleged the NWFP government had been bypassed at the time of launching the devolution plan. He said if the provincial government’s reservations on the plan had been heard it could have strengthened the plan.

He claimed the local government ordinance had created certain confusion about powers of district nazims, and underscored for the need to remove the lacunae from the devolution programme.

The provincial health minister said the provincial government had to ensure that its role in the wake of the plan was not reduced to that of a post-office.

Stressing on strengthening the MCH programme locally, the health minister emphasized the need for establishing a comprehensive policy focusing especially on backward and neglected areas.

He said some financial autonomy had to be given to district officials in the health department for delivering quality health service.

Mr Inayatullah said he had proposed that 25 per cent financial powers be given to hospitals in the district headquarters. He said his proposal had been lying with the finance department.

The minister said he also supported the idea that a portion of the revenue generated at a health institution at tehsil or district level be spent there. He said the provincial finance department had agreed in principal to the suggestion.

He said a district officer under the devolution plan did not have powers even to penalize his driver for any wrongdoing.

Mr Inayatullah called for training local women about MCH.

He said the provincial government had been doing its job but the donor agencies should also concentrate on this sector.

The minister suggested that doctors studying for specialization should spend some time in district hospitals.

He said that promotion of health officials working on administrative posts should be linked to their performances.

Mr Inayatullah said that Human Resource Development and Management were two important sectors. However, reforming the two massively had not been possible. It should be done gradually, he said.

The health minister said that instead of spending money on holding workshops and seminars it should be spent on training woman health workers.

Mr Inayatullah said he had written to the federal health ministry to relax criteria for appointing Lady Health Workers in rural areas.—APP