PESHAWAR: The government is expediting health reforms process and the new minister is being tasked to spearhead implementation of many laws that were passed by the ruling PTI in its first tenure but remained far from enforcement even after the party came into power for second time in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, says Prof Nausherwan Burki, the chairman of Prime Minister Task Force on Health.

PTI had promised drastic reforms in health sector to improve patients’ care. After forming government in the province for the first time, Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act and Healthcare Commission Act were passed and Health Foundation was revamped under Shahram Khan as health minister.

During the first five years, the party didn’t show any worthwhile progress, with few exceptions. The Sehat Sahulat Programme proved a big success and the model has now been implemented at federal level and other provinces.

In July, it is being extended to all the residents of the province who will be entitled to getting cashless treatment at the hospitals, both government and private.

The residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were expectations that PTI would enforce the reforms after the landslide victory in the 2018 general elections but the hopes faded as the process came to a halt. It embarrassed the architects of the law, which had been cleared by Peshawar High Court after months of hearings.

Prime Minister Task Force on Health chairman hopes for enforcement of laws

“I am going to discuss issues relating to Health Foundation, HCC and pushing up the enforcement of MTI law with new health minister,” Prof Burki told Dawn.

According to him, the government wants to accelerate the reforms process and hopes the new minister will play a lead role. Prof Burki, who introduced health reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is also chairman of Board of Governors of Lady Reading Hospital.

He said the enforcement of Regional and District Health Authorities Act, 2019 was also among the reforms to provide relief to patients at the local hospitals.

So far, except LRH and HMC, which have made clinical and academic progress, the six others MTIs have a hybrid administrative system, both having civil servants and employees hired under the new law.

Khyber Girls Medical College, affiliate of HMC, was declared top medical school by Pakistan Medical Commission.

Prof Burki said that minister knew the government’s agenda and was part of the process, therefore, it was hoped that he would resolve the issues soon and pave way for putting to practice government’s vision of standard healthcare services.

In the second stint of PTI, Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan, a graduate of Khyber College of Dentistry, assumed charge of health department but he couldn’t push matters with regard to the reforms, mainly owing to his strain relations with hospitals’ employees, including doctors, nurses and paramedics.

Dr Hisham said repeatedly during his days as minister that reforms would be enforced as per the policy of the party.

During the past few months, differences among the minister and health staffers had widened to an extent that the former avoided visiting hospitals where he expected protests.

During his 17-month tenure as health minister, he saw frequent strikes, due to his alleged beating of a surgeon at KTH as well as the government’s plan to introduce RDAA 2019.

The leaders of employees’ association had warned that they would not talk to health minister and wanted case registered against him. Therefore, the government had no choice except to change him with Sharma Khan, a time-tested minister, well-versed with long-delayed reforms programme in the province.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2020