Alkhidmat Hospital first in Karachi to offer treatment under PM’s insurance programme

The Alkhidmat Fareeda Yaqoob Hospital (AKFYH) in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Hadeed neighbourhood has signed an agreement with the federal government to be a partner of the Sehat Sahulat Programme.

The prime minister’s health insurance programme is currently covering 100 per cent of the populations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh’s Tharparkar district, and will gradually expand its coverage.

AKFYH Medical Superintendent Dr Zafar Iqbal told The News on Saturday that the Alkhidmat Hospital has been selected from among the list of Pakistan’s hospitals known for their quality services and transparency in the management of patients and business deals.

“Now, people who have a Sehat Insaf Card can avail quality health facilities at the Alkhidmat Hospital free of charge after this deal,” said Dr Iqbal.

Located on the National Highway leading to Thatta, the AKFYH is a 60-bed secondary-care health facility and the only hospital in the entire area with services of surgery, radiology, diagnostics and in-patient hospitalisation.

Dr Iqbal said that earlier established as a maternity health facility by the Alkhidmat Foundation, the hospital is now expanding and offering most of the services of a secondary-care health centre.

The MS added that now with their agreement with the federal government, additional health facilities will be made available for the people of the area.

“A large number of people who have enrolled in themselves the Sehat Sahulat Programme live in this area or come to here from Tharparkar. Following our agreement with the government, we can further enhance our scope of health services to serve Sehat Insaf Card holders as well as others.”

Dr Iqbal said that the Alkhidmat Hospital is a charity health facility where most of the health services are offered on subsidised rates, adding that in many cases, expenses incurred on the treatment of patients are not charged because they are unable to pay for them.

He said that the hospital is presently offering paediatric and gynaecological services and procedures, general surgery, and gastrointestinal, orthopaedic and several other procedures, while various ENT and urology procedures and treatments are also available.