RAWALPINDI: The Punjab Health Facilities Management Company will take over the District Health Authority along with 98 basic health units (BHUs), 10 rural health units (RHUs), six tehsil headquarters (THQ) hospitals and 50 dispensaries from Feb 1.

A senior official of the health department told Dawn that the provincial government had formed the company and registered it with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

He said the government had decided to bring all the basic health units and rural health units under the company to improve healthcare facilities.

Punjab Health Facilities Management Company has been registered with the SECP

“The procurement of equipment and medicines as well as recruitment of doctors and paramedical staff will be carried out by the new company. The issue of refusal by doctors to work in villages would also be solved.”

The official said the company had taken over control of the health units in 12 districts and the remaining 14 districts would come under its control in two months. “Rawalpindi and Khushab will come under the PHFMC on February 1,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Talat Mehmood Gondal, who is the chairman of the District Health Authority, confirmed to Dawn that the healthcare facilities would be handed over to the PHFMC from February 1.

He said the basic objective to set up the company was to provide better healthcare facilities to the citizens.

However, the Young Doctors Association (YDA) described the formation of the company to run the affairs of the health units as a privatisation.

“The formation of the company is enough to prove that the Punjab government has failed to improve the health sector in the last 10 years,” said YDA Punjab Chairman Dr Haider Akhter.

He said instead of increasing the budget of health centres in villages and towns the government was privatising the system.

He said downsising of the employees would also start soon. Doctors, paramedical staff and technicians of laboratories have formed Punjab Health Professional Alliance which has give a deadline to the government to withdraw the decision otherwise it would start agitation from January 30, added.

Dr Akhter said the government had failed to provide equipment to hospitals and medicines to indoor patients and was expecting good results from health professionals which was not possible.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2018