PESHAWAR: As the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has decided to install MRI and CT scanners in the province’s six government hospitals under the public-private partnership initiative, the Health Foundation has been asked to conduct a feasibility study for the provision of diagnostic services to the people.

The Health Foundation will carry out the exercise in line with the codal formalities, according to officials.

They told Dawn that MRI and CT scanners would be installed at district headquarters hospitals in Charsadda, Haripur and Karak, while CT scanners would be provided to DHQ hospital in Upper Dir, tehsil headquarters hospital in Khwazakhela area of Swat and Mian Rashid Hussain Shaheed Memorial Hospital in Pabbi area of Nowshera district.

The officials said the health department had issued directives after receiving scanner requests from the hospitals, which insisted that unavailability of those services is causing the referral of patients to other cities for CT and MRI examinations.

Initiative planned under public-private partnership

They said the requests were sent in by hospital medical superintendents or district health officers.

The officials said the Health Foundation, mandated to outsource services under the public-private partnership and ensure services to the patients, would conduct a feasibility study to check if the hospitals actually require the sought-after machines.

They said the feasibility study would cover the local population, infrastructure and human resources before a report would be placed before the advisory committee and technical committee for consent. The report will later be put up to the board of governors for approval.

When contacted, HF managing director Dr Khizar Hayat said that it would be the second phase of outsourcing diagnostic services as the foundation had already completed the process to install MRI and CT scanners in six government hospitals under public-private partnership initiative to provide uninterrupted diagnostic services to patients.

He said the DHQ hospitals in Kohat, Swat, Batkhela and Malakand would get both MRI and CT machines, while THQ Hospital in Takhtbai area of Mardan district and a Category-D hospital in Gara Tajik area of Peshawar will get CT scanners. The Timergara DHQ hospital will get an MRI machine.

The official said the government, under its health sector reform agenda, wanted to enhance and improve access of patients to advanced diagnostic imaging services through the private sector to ensure availability of CT scan and MRI services in public hospitals, reduce patient referrals, improve clinical decision-making and minimise “out-of-pocket expenditure”.

He said that outsourcing of diagnostic services was a better option as currently in several hospitals, including medical teaching institutions, the imaging services were not provided to patients as the machines were out of order.

Dr Hayat said the machines were very expensive, so the provision of so many units to hospitals wasn’t easy. He insisted that the better option was to engage private partners with experience and track record in the area of diagnostics.

The official said the selected private partner would be responsible for the complete lifecycle delivery of CT scan and MRI services, including design, financing, installation, establishment, operation, management and maintenance of the facilities.

He said that there were no such services in those health centres, so the patients were referred to hospitals in other cities or private health facilities.

Dr Hayat said partner organisations would be installing machines, providing human resources and maintaining the same to provide services to patients at notified rates.

He said the government wouldn’t spend any money on it but would monitor to ensure uninterrupted and quality services to patients in designated hospitals.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2026