MURAD STRESSES COLLABORATION BETWEEN HEALTH DEPT, PPHI

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said that the health services would be improved tremendously in the province if the available human and financial resources are utilised properly.

He was presiding over a meeting of People Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) here at the CM House. The meeting was attended by Health Minister Dr Sikanadar Mendhro, Principal Secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch, Health Secretary Dr Usman Chachar, PPHI Chairman Board Fazal Rehman, PPHI CEO Dr Riaz Memon, Finance Secretary Hassan Naqvi and others.

PPPHI is a government owned organisation being run through an efficient board to provide primary healthcare services in the remote and rural areas of 21 districts. The success of PPHI lies in its human resource policy which include merit based facility specific contract, separate contract for each district, no transfer outside the district, capacity building and continuing education, life health insurance and provident fund, performance based extension, promotion and remuneration this is why it is giving best performance.

Giving presentation to the chief minister, chairman PPHI Fazal Rehamn said that there were 113 rural health centers in Sindh, of them 104 were working under the administrative control of Health Department and nine with PPHI, out of 782 basic health units (BHUs) 133 were with health and 649 with PPHI. Similarly there were 90 maternity homes in the province, of them 56 were with Health Department and 34 with PPHI. Out of 835 dispensaries 400 are being run by Health Department and 435 by PPHI and other health facilities were 132, of them 120 were under Health Department and 12 with PPHI. In other words 58 percent or 1,139 health facilities of the provincial government were being run by PPHI while the Health Department had 833 health facilities.

He said before formation or taking over by PPHI out of 1139 health facilities 409 were without doctors. 182 health facilities were illegally occupied while 158 had no SNE. In other words 390 or 64 percent health facilities were dysfunctional only 36 percent had doctors.

The PPHI CEO Dr Riaz Memon said the illegally occupied 182 health facilities were vacated and managed to get their SNE approved and now almost all of them were not only functional but providing healthcare services at their full capacity. He added that presently, there were 464 female medical officers working in the rural areas of 21 districts.

PPHI under the guidance of the government had upgraded 120 BHUs which were providing maternal services round the clock. These centres have well-equipped labour rooms. This is the first ever initiative taken in any province of Pakistan.

Dr Riaz said that midwifery training programme had been launched so far and 43 trained midwives had been employed, 31 were waiting to appear in final examination, 50 other would graduate in Feb 2017 and 50 other would be given trainings in Feb 2018.

He said that PPHI was contributing to family planning and had set up 3-day camps in rural areas.

Shah said that there were 22,000 LHV in the province, the PPHI and Health Department must sit together to utilise their services. He also asked Health Department to work out a plan to transfer the management and budget of remaining 133 BHUs PPHI.

He said they [PPHI] are doing good job therefore they must be allowed to deliver their services with more efficiency and transparency.