PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed the health department to ensure utilisation of available equipment by October this year and fill up all vacant positions on emergency basis in the newly merged districts to improve patients’ care.

According to a statement issued here on Wednesday, the chief minister said rhis while chairing a review meeting of health department.

He said that Sehat Sahulat Programme would be extended to all the citizens till November. He added that the process of issuance of four million Sehat Insaf Cards would be initiated soon.

Under the programme, 1.7 million families have already been getting free healthcare facilities whereas 450,000 cards have been issued to the residents of tribal districts.

On the occasion, the chief minister also ordered making functional the newly constructed gyne and children block in the district headquarter hospital, Mardan.

He directed the health department to move a formal summery identifying the missing facilities required for making functional the newly constructed blocks in Khyber Teaching Hospital, Lady Reading Hospital and Institute of Kidney Diseases, Hayatabad.

The key performance indicators set for the health department were being used for real time monitoring of the health care services including presence of staff, medicines and equipment to ensure provision of effective services to the people.

The chief minister was informed that as per the baseline survey, staff presence was increased from 66 per cent in April 2015 to 75 per cent in June 2019. Similarly, during the corresponding period, medicines availability went up from 46 per cent to 67 per cent whereas utilisation of equipment was increased from 58 per cent to 77 per cent.

About the vacant positions in the district headquarters hospitals, rural health centres and basic health units, the chief minister was informed that recruitment on nearly 4,000 vacant posts that included positions from class IV to BPS-18 was underway and most of the vacancies would be filled by September whereas the recruitment process would be completed by the end of the ongoing year.

As far the healthcare service delivery status in the district headquarters hospitals of tribal districts, the chief minister was informed that survey for identifying missing facilities was completed and efforts were afoot to ensure presence of staff, availability of essential medicines, ambulance and laboratory services there.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2019