PESHAWAR: The members of Grand Health Alliance have launched protest against the newly-implemented Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Healthcare Facilities Management Act, 2022, saying it is meant to privatise the hospitals and convert their regular services into contractual ones.

The new law has replaced District and Regional Health Authorities Act, 2019, to provide better health services to the patients through improved management and administration of hospitals in the province. The new law provides for establishment of Regional Authority for Health (RAH) at the divisional level to run all the health facilities in the relevant region.

The members of Grand Health Alliance including doctors, paramedics and nurses, however, argue that the new law is not acceptable to them as it would give the administrative and financial powers to the councils, the members of which would be taken from private sector.

As per law, the government will establish RAH at divisional level that will take control of the health facilities to run through the Board of Governors (BoG). The chief operating officer, chief executive officer and financial officer of every RAH will be entrusted with all financial and administrative powers.

The BoG will have all powers to appoint staff at the relevant hospital on contractual or locum basis and terminate the services of the employees hired by it. The new piece of legislation also provides for the establishment of a ‘policy board’ at the provincial level for supervision of the RAHs. The policy board will be headed by provincial health minister while secretary of health department, director-general health services and chairpersons of the respective BoGs will be its members.

Under the law, a nomination committee would be formed to nominate members of the RAHs. The health minister will head the committee while health secretary, director-general health services, representatives of Khyber Medical University, University of Peshawar, public and private hospitals and civil society members, to be nominated by the chief minister, will be its members. Each RAH will have advisory and inspection committees as well.

The members of GHA have started wearing black armbands to register their protest against the law. They say that they are civil servants and eligible for pensions and other benefits as per government rules. The new law would provide a chance to the civil servants to opt for absorption in the respective RAHs within 60 days after which they would be considered employees on deputation from the health department. The civil servants on deputation would be eligible for pension as per Civil Sevenths Act, 1973.

Published in Dawn,June 10th, 2022