ABBOTTABAD: Provincial Minister for Health Shaukat Yousafzai has said that the government is launching a comprehensive health delivery system from September 2 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after which people will be able to see marked improvement in facilities provided by the government hospitals.

This he said while speaking at Ayub Medical Complex Hospital on Thursday where equipment and funds worth Rs50 million were donated by an NGO, Poverty Eradication Initiative (PEI), to the complex and of Rs20 million worth to the district headquarters hospital, Abbottabad.

The minister said that the health department had assessed shortcomings in health sector in a short period and mechanism was ready to deliver services to the common man. He said that August 30 deadline was set to fill the vacancies of 450 doctors and 550 nurses, who would be posted in all the big and small hospitals in all parts of the province.

He said that Rs1 billion had been released for the provision of medicines and improvement of health care facilities. He said that this was the first installment of funds and more money would be released based on success shown by the hospitals.

Mr Yousafzai said that under the health plan from September 2 onward all tests conducted in labs, ultrasound, ECG etc, would be free of cost. He said that patients would have to pay only Rs5 for the chit and free medicines would be provided to them.

He said that the major change would be introduced in the emergency cover and doctors and experts of teaching hospitals would be available round the clock to treat the accident and emergency patients. He said that referral of patients would be discouraged and it would be ensured to provide best treatment facilities in local hospitals.

He said that they were putting in place a model health delivery system in the government hospitals so that people could see the real change.

The health minister announced construction of tehsil hospital at Balakot for which 17 kanals was being acquired. He also directed the authorities concerned for early revival of the old mental hospital at Dhodial-Manshera. Besides, he said that a doctors’ colony would be built at Ayub Medical Complex Hospital. Chief Executive of Ayub Medical Complex Prof Nisar briefed the participants about the ongoing developmental activities in the hospital. Earlier, Shahid Yousaf, chief executive of PEI, said that they had the most sophisticated equipments arranged through own resources from different countries.