No doubt, the incumbent government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has focused its attention on transforming the existing service delivery system, particularly healthcare services, to ensure maximum facilities to the people at their doorstep and reduce workload on tertiary care hospitals in the province.
It is yet another encouraging sign for the ailing humanity in the far off districts that the provincial government has entered into a financing agreement with the Asian Development Bank to properly equip and renovate primary and secondary healthcare facilities.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, doubtlessly, is in dire need of a referral system to ensure that the people start getting primary, secondary and tertiary-care services in the specified and nearest healthcare facilities. Currently, there is no system of referral due to which most of the patients go to big hospitals without being referred from primary or secondary hospitals at the local and district levels.
The province has 1,650 health facilities with over 60,000 staffers, which is enough to cater to the healthcare needs of 35 million population but there should be proper system so that the people with minor health issues are tackled in local hospitals and those with complication are sent to secondary and tertiary facilities. To do this, the province should have complete data regarding diseases and start measures for redressal. The results-based loan program envisages improving the delivery of health services at secondary hospitals by modernizing infrastructure and equipment, ensuring clinical protocols, standards and guidelines are implemented; and improving human resources planning and medicine supply chain management.
According to an official statement, the program aims to transform Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Secondary Healthcare (SHC) System by upgrading infrastructure of 33 existing facilities in terms of equipment and medical, technical, and administrative staff. Furthermore, the program is expected to benefit an estimated 38 million people, including women in need of maternal health care services while reducing infant and maternal mortality rates.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa requires a referral system to ensure that the people start getting primary, secondary and tertiary-care services in the specified and nearest healthcare facilities. Currently, there is no system of referral due to which most of the patients go to the tertiary hospitals without being referred from primary or secondary hospitals. By putting in place a referral system, we can reduce workload on the tertiary or teaching hospitals which are required to receive complicated patients.
Secondly, a strong public health department is needed to put brakes on epidemics, such as Covid-19, Dengue, Poliomyelitis and bird flu etc. The public health department should be an independent entity with backing of all line departments as the outbreaks of epidemics wasn’t possible for a single department. Immunization must be made mandatory to safeguard children against 12 vaccine-preventable childhood ailments. Similarly, mother and child health situation can be improved through community-based health services to cut down mortality from avoidable complications.
Reforms in health system as well as in all other sectors always take time to yield results. The governments want quick results, due to which most governments in the past remained hesitant to launch the reforms process rolling. The implementation of the ADB program would add another feather to the cap of the incumbent government to go ahead with the much-needed reforms initiative and facilitate healthcare service delivery to the poor people.
