PESHAWAR, Aug 3: NWFP Minster for Health Inayatullah has ordered devising a comprehensive mechanism for streamlining all patients’ welfare funds being given to teaching hospitals to provide maximum relief to deserving hepatitis patients.

He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting here on Thursday morning to discuss ways and means for efficient utilization of poor patients’ welfare funds at public sector hospitals.

Besides Provincial Minister for Ushr and Zakaat Hafiz Hashmat Khan, Additional Secretary Zakaat, medical superintendent, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, resident medical officers of all the three teaching hospitals and chief pharmacists of the Lady Reading Hospital and the Khyber Teaching Hospital attended the meeting.

The health minister told the meeting that hospitals were receiving huge amounts from Zakaat funds, Baitul Maal, Prime Minister’s Programme for Prevention of Hepatitis and Endowment Fund.

He said: “A large number of poor patients can be extended free treatment facilities if all these funds are streamlined properly.”

The health minister constituted a committee under Dr Rahim Jan, comprising resident medical officers of the Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital, HMC and the focal person of the Prime Minister’s Programme for Prevention of Hepatitis, Dr Aamir Ghafoor. The committee was assigned the task of compiling concrete recommendations for evolving a mechanism to coordinate all welfare funds, ensuring transparency in its utilisation, identification of deserving patients and allocation of regional quota. The committee was ordered to submit its report by the 9th of August.

Mr Hashmat while expressing concern over the non-provision of complete treatment facilities to deserving patients form Zakaat funds asked the authorities concerned to facilitate needy patients for their treatment. He directed that deserving hepatitis patients be investigated properly.