Deficiencies in Sehat Sahulat Programme being removed: minister

LAHORE: Caretaker Provincial Health Minister Prof Dr Javed Akram said that the deficiencies in the Sehat Sahulat Programme are being removed through some effective measures. He said this while addressing the 13th meeting of the Cabinet Standing Committee for Universal Health Insurance here on Tuesday.

In the meeting, Secretary Health Punjab Ali Jan Khan, CEO Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr Ali Razzaq, CEO Punjab Healthcare Commission Dr Saqib Aziz, COO PHIMC Shamshad Ali Khan, Uzma Hafeez from P&D and Nausheen Fayyaz from PITB participated. Punjab Health Secretary Ali Jan Khan gave a briefing on the occasion.

Addressing the meeting, Dr Javed Akram said that cabinet under the leadership of CM Punjab took revolutionary steps regarding health card and reforms were brought for further improvement in the Sehat Sahulat Programme.

He said, “We are not political people and betterment of masses is our only goal. We want to allocate health facility card only to poor people of Punjab. We also faced a negative campaign to improve the Sehat Sahulat Programme”, he added. Prof Dr Javed Akram said that a database is being created in Punjab. Before our arrival, Rs26 crore were being spent a day on Sehat Sahulat cards and such a huge burden on the people of Punjab was unbearable. As a result of the revolutionary initiatives in the Sehat Sahulat Programme, we have reduced costs by up to fifty percent. The government spent Rs96 billion to improve the conditions of govt hospitals in Punjab, he said.

The caretaker provincial health minister said that 90 percent caesarean operations were done instead of normal deliveries in Punjab to earn money. In the past, patients had two stents inserted instead of one. The government is bearing 60 percent of the expenses of the patients who get treatment on the health cards in the private hospitals of the province. All types of emergency, dialysis, cancer treatment and trauma treatment are being done free of charge through Sahat Sahulat card. The Sehat Sahulat Programme in Punjab was not stopped even for a day, he informed.

He said that the rate of return of premium under the healthcare programme by the previous government was very low. In our era, the agenda of every cabinet meeting was to find ways and means to improve the Sehat Sahulat Programme. Dr Javed Akram said that only licenced private hospitals are being paid under the Sehat Sahulat Programme in Punjab.