ABBOTTABAD: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has extended the Sehat Card Plus programme to Abbottabad, Shangla, Buner, Kohistan, Mansehra, Battagram and Torghar districts offering free medical care to the residents.

A special ceremony in this respect was held in Abbottabad on Tuesday with Speaker of the provincial assembly Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, health minister Taimour Saleem Jhagra and adviser to the chief minister on information Kamran Bangash being in attendance.

Mr Ghani said six million people would available themselves of free medical services in the region’s top hospitals through the Sehat Card Plus programme.

He said the initiative would mostly benefit the middle and lower-middle class.

PA speaker says initiative to mostly benefit middle, lower-middle class

The speaker said the people, whose computerised national identity cards showed KP as their permanent address, would get free care in more than 450 hospitals of the country through the card.

Health minister Taimour Jhagra said the government had allocated Rs20 billion for the Sehat Card Plus scheme, which promised free medical care to families in hospitals.

He said the health insurance’s value would be increased next year.

The minister said the programme would also help gather the data of diseases and cause the growth of pharmaceutical and insurance sectors.

Adviser to the CM Kamran Bangash said the ruling PTI had fulfilled another election promise by launching the Sehat Card Plus programme and would continue working for the people’s development.

Also in the day, health minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra inaugurated the Sehat Card Plus programme in Mansehra district.

The inaugural ceremony was held at the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, where local MPA Babar Saleem Swati, director general (health) Dr Niaz, deputy commissioner Dr Qasim Ali Khan and medical superintendent Dr Shahzad Ali Khan were present.

The minister also visited wards, met patients and inquired after them.

He announced support for the establishment of another 200-bedded intensive care unit at the hospital.

Meanwhile, labour minister Shaukat Yousafzai launched the Sehat Cards Plus programme in Shangla district saying it will benefit 750,000 residents.

During a special ceremony in Bisham area, he said the people with Sehat Cards would avail themselves of medical facilities in all major private hospitals free of charge. — APP

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2020