SPEAKING at the launch of the health card at a ceremony in Lahore on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the government would shut down all district headquarters hospitals and facilitate the private sector to ensure provision of healthcare to people in far flung areas through Naya Pakistan National Health Card scheme.
In our view, the PM should reconsider this very decision before moving ahead as it will have serious implications for the overall healthcare system as well as the poor patients.
There is no doubt that the district headquarters hospitals have failed to provide quality medical treatment to the patients who then have to travel to big cities for the same.
The PM is also true in his observation that the doctors do not like serving in these hospitals but shutting them down is also not a feasible option as doing so will leave the people at the mercy of private clinics and hospitals whose fee have already gone beyond the reach of the common man.
Mostly people in far flung areas visit the OPDs in district headquarters hospitals for various ailments whilst under the health insurance scheme initiated by the present government, the patients only can avail indoor treatment.
The health insurance scheme does not cover the OPD services.If the DHQ hospitals are shut down, the people will be compelled to avail OPD services from private hospitals at their own expense.
Firstly, we will suggest the government to expand the scope of the health insurance scheme and it must also include OPD services as well as provision of medicines to those who are registered with Ehsaas Program as these are the poorest of the poor families which cannot afford buying medicines from their own pockets.
Then, sufficient resources should be provided in order to improve the conditions of DHQ hospitals.
The doctors and paramedical staff serving there should be given better packages and incentives, and then installation of a monitoring system there could ensure better service delivery.
Fully functional DHQ hospitals are very important so that the medical treatment including those of serious diseases do not go beyond the reach of the common man.
At the same time, services at rural healthcare centres should be improved so that the people are not required to travel long distances for treatment of minor ailments.
