APROPOS the article ‘Delivering health’ (March 31). There are certain points where the record needs to be set straight. The MTI act (Medical Teaching Institutions) was not bulldozed in Punjab Assembly; rather following democratic norms and a comprehensive negotiation process lasting almost 16 months it was passed by the assembly.

The act was tabled in the Punjab Assembly in April 2019 and unanimously cleared by the standing committee. After due process it was passed by the provincial assembly in March 2020. The MTI Act in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was implemented successfully three years ago and none of the institutions working under it has been privatised.

The article says no job security has been ensured in MTI Act. Section 22 of the act clearly states that jobs, job security, promotion and pensions of the employees are properly secured.

The writer states that all government teaching hospitals have been placed under private management boards. The fact is that the Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Act was implemented in 2003.

It introduced the Boards of Management which are still functioning.

This act was promulgated to improve the performance of the government teaching hospitals with annual budgets of Rs 8 billion to Rs 10 billion. Such institutions need administrative and financial autonomy to function better.

The government will provide the funds and monitor their performance. In case of poor performance the teaching hospitals management boards may be revised by the Punjab chief minister.

As for the insurance scheme, the private hospitals put on the panel --after meeting the selection criteria on merit-- are entities where Sehat Insaf Card holders could avail themselves ofservices worth Rs720,000 annually. The card premium has already been paid by the federal government. More than 7.2 million families will benefit from this initiative.

Dr Yasmin Raashid

Minister of Health, Govt of Punjab

Lahore

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2020