ABBOTTABAD: Ayub Teaching Hospital (ATH) Abbottabad has decided to establish an effective coordination mechanism with regional public sector hospitals to streamline the patient referral system and ensure timely access to specialised healthcare services.
In this regard, a meeting was held at ATH on Thursday with the administrative and medical staff of Benazir Bhutto Hospital Abbottabad and King Abdullah Hospital Mansehra. The meeting discussed measures to facilitate patients, improve medical consultation and make the referral process more organised and efficient.
Speaking on the occasion, the medical director of ATH, Dr Imran Khan, said that an organised referral mechanism would help to utilise available hospital resources efficiently, ensure timely treatment and prevent unnecessary pressure on tertiary care health facilities.
The participants of the meeting were also briefed on Emergency Referral Portal, developed by a team of Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar that would help to make patient transfer and referral more systematic.
A list of 13 specialised departments at Ayub Medical Institution was also shared with them, with their relevant specialists remaining available on-call through mobile phones. Under this arrangement, emergency teams at district headquarters (DHQ) hospitals would be able to directly contact specialists for immediate medical advice and guidance.
The proposed initiative envisages integrating primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities into a unified network, with Ayub Medical Institution serving as the central hub and regional hospitals, DHQ hospitals and rural health centres (RHCs) functioning as interconnected units.
The dean and chief executive of ATH, Prof Irfanud Din Khattak, said that the initiative would improve patient care while facilitating the collection and analysis of referral data, assessment of healthcare needs, future planning and equitable distribution of medical resources.
Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2026
