PESHAWAR: The administration in Charsadda district will establish community doctor councils to ensure quick repair work in the health facilities, supply of medicines and electricity besides staff attendance for treatment of local population.

Charsadda district has 60 public sector health outlets, which will show improvement under the new mechanism in as people will be involved in the decision-making process.

Charsadda Deputy Commissioner Adeel Shah told Dawn that he had strongly felt that a mechanism should be put in place to involve local community in decision-making process and make the government institutions result-oriented entities.

“The people have been complaining about lack of facilities in rural health centres and basic health units during the khuli kutcheris, we have been holding at village and tehsil level to listen to the complaints of people. We have found that most of the minor issues make problems for people,” he said.

Eight-member council to include MS of hospital, local elders, social workers, paramedic

The official said that once those councils got functional, there would continuous supply of electricity and faulty machines would start working because there would complete liaison with the community. “The measure will help the people to get better treatment in their areas,” he said.

The deputy commissioner said that there would be monthly meetings to discuss facility-wise issues with members of the councils.

He said that centres of Expanded Programme on Immunisation required uninterrupted supply of power to ensure safety of the vaccines.

A notification issued by the DHO said that 8-member CDCs would be established at the council level to ensure utilisation of budget under strict monitoring to enable the first level healthcare facilities effective for patients’ care.

DHO Dr Mohammad Idrees said that the concept had previously been implemented in Malakand district that had shown good results.

According to the notification, medical superintendent or in-charge medical officer of the respective health facility will act as chairman, along with three community elders, two social workers, one paramedic and secretary of the council concerned.

The council will receive one-line budget from district health officer and deposit it in its account to be maintained in any bank with two signatories, including medical officer and one local elder.

It said that grants would be approved to materialise plans and cost incurred on fulfilment of needs and petty repair due to which costly machines went into disuse. “We have issued notification on the directives of deputy commissioner to strengthen local health facilities and ensure care in the nearest hospitals,” said the DHO.

The committees being formed in 146 village and neighbourhoods councils in Charsadda will make purchases from the market and will monitor the operations of facilities and will identify the issues there. The council will maintain proper record of accounts with signatures and counter signatures for transparent expenses.

“The medical superintendent or medical officer will be responsible to pinpoints problems in consultation with the staff and CDC that will be resolved quickly,” said Dr Idrees.

He said that the initiative had been taken in view of delegating powers to facility level for quick redressal and making patients’ care smooth.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2020