PESHAWAR
\nThe Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly members here Monday expressed concerns on the outsourcing of public sector hospitals in the province.
\nIn KP Assembly session, the issue of outsourcing government hospitals intensified, as ruling party members themselves raised questions about their government\u2019s policy.
\nGovernment member Ubaidur Rehman, speaking on a point of order, said that he had raised the issue of hospital outsourcing in the previous session, which included DHQ Hospital Timergara. He said that the policy was originally designed only for poorly performing hospitals, but now even well-performing hospitals like DHQ Thamrabagh are being included, which is a matter of high concern.
\nHe revealed that a summary has already been sent to upgrade Thamrabagh into a teaching hospital, while an important meeting on outsourcing is scheduled for May 7.
\nTherefore, he urged the government to exclude this hospital from the outsourcing process.
\nUbaidur Rehman also strongly criticized the absence of ministers, saying that apart from two or three, no one attends the assembly despite the importance of this public issue. He added that the Health Minister had promised to respond but has yet to provide any clarification.
\nThe presiding officer remarked that ensuring ministers\u2019 attendance is the government\u2019s responsibility.
\nProvincial Law Minister Aftab Alam responded by saying that a formal notice should be submitted on the issue, after which the Health Department or Health Minister would present their position.
\nMPA Mehboob Sher said that DHQ Hospital Ghalanai has also been included in outsourcing despite its satisfactory performance.
\nThe presiding officer directed the Health Department to consult with the relevant MPAs regarding the outsourcing issue, and said that if members are not satisfied, the Health Minister will have to answer in the next session.
\nDuring the debate, Ubaidur Rehman claimed that the Health Department appears helpless on the matter because the decision has already been made at the cabinet level, while the bureaucracy has become dominant over the assembly.
\nMPA Liaqat Khan also said that after the cabinet\u2019s decision, the department has fulfilled its role, and now the assembly should take action.
\nThe presiding officer clarified that the assembly can legislate and issue directives, and advised government members to first resolve the matter with the relevant department.
\nDuring the session, members from Charsadda, Bajaur, and South Waziristan also opposed hospital outsourcing and highlighted poor healthcare conditions in their areas.
\nMPA Asif Khan said that the Category-D hospital in South Waziristan lacks basic facilities and suffers from a severe shortage of specialist doctors.
\nProvincial housing minister Dr Amjad suggested referring the matter to the standing committee and calling a meeting within three days to find a solution.
\nSubsequently, the assembly referred the matter to the relevant standing committee and directed that an immediate meeting be convened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly members here Monday expressed concerns on the outsourcing of public sector hospitals in the province. In KP Assembly session, the issue of outsourcing government hospitals intensified, as ruling party members themselves raised questions about their government\u2019s policy. Government member Ubaidur Rehman, speaking on a point of order, said that he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-544638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n