PESHAWAR: Private hospitals have started free treatment of patients under Sehat Insaf Card programme, launched by government in January, as major public sector hospitals lack mechanism to do the same.

Sources said that three major hospitals were not accepting patients under Sehat Insaf Card programme. “The main teaching hospitals are yet to sign agreements with health department for provision of free treatment to people under the programme owing to nonexistence of any system under which the beneficiaries get swift and quality services,” they added.

The government wants to utilise the huge infrastructure at public sector hospitals for the patients and also generate resources from the SIC programme. The government gives cash money to hospitals for providing free services of the entitled patients.

Officials said that they had established counters with data of the registered people on computers at Lady Ready Hospital, Hayatabad Medical and Khyber Teaching Hospital to start the programme. These hospitals have fixed rates for providing services to patients.

“In the absence of any procedure, patients have to undergo long waiting lists under the present circumstances so they prefer private hospitals,” said sources.

The hospitals want to launch institution-based practice (IBP) and form panels of doctors for the card-holding patients.

Sources said that LRH started IBP but HMC and KTH didn’t start it. “These hospitals don’t accept patients on SICs also because they have double patients than their capacity. They want designated doctors in IBP in evening for SIC patents,” they said.

Delay in allowing treatment to patients for major illnesses in LRH, KTH and HMC on cards is source of embarrassment for those people, who want treatment at the premier hospitals. The two-year programme launched in collaboration with State Life Insurance Corporation in January seeks to give free treatment to 1.4 million people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in government and private hospitals.

“About 8 50,000 families have received cards so far but they cannot use them to the desired services especially at the government sector hospitals,” said sources. The card-holders get free services at the secondary and tertiary level hospitals in all specialties.

A meeting will take place on Monday to discuss issues relating to launching of Sehat Insaf Card programme in LRH, KTH and HMC, the three main hospitals where a full infrastructure and machinery remain unutilised for most of the time.

The health department wants flow of registered patients to public sector hospitals to generate income through a proper mechanism and people get quick relief.

The government pays up to Rs300, 000 to private and public hospitals for angiography, treatment of diabetic-related problems, head injury, accidents, cardiac ailments, burns and cancers etc.

North West General Hospital, Rehman Medical Institute, Naseer Teaching Hospital, Al-Khidmat Hospital and others accept patients under the agreement with health department for provision of free services under the programme.

The government will spend Rs5.4 billion on the programme. One card can be used by eight members of the same family.

One-year agreements have also been signed with district headquarters and private hospitals for provision of free treatment to people suffering from malaria, typhoid, diarrhoea and surgery for appendicitis, gall bladder stone and tonsillitis in Mardan, Charsadda, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Kohat, Swabi and Chitral districts where an amount of Rs240,000 per family is being spent on treatment of common diseases.

A law is being drafted to make the SIC a regular programme of health department and enhance its coverage in future.

Published in Dawn February 13th, 2017