Sehat Sahulat Programme: Govt hospital refuses knee surgery in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: A resident of Islamabad, Hafiz Naeem, was refused knee surgery under the Sehat Sahulat Programme in a government hospital of Islamabad and he had to pay nearly Rs 200,000 for the treatment.

Talking to this scribe, Naeem said the type of treatment was neither covered under the programme nor the hospital panelled with the Sehat Sahulat programme. It is pertinent to mention that Prime Minister Imran Khan while delivering speech in a public meeting on Friday claimed that the Sehat Sahulat programme covered every disease and patients can benefit from this programme from any hospital. In addition to this, most of the hospitals in Islamabad panelled with the Sehat Sahulat programme are not providing all the treatments offered under the programme. When asked, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said there is a wide range of conditions and diseases that the Sehat Card covers for inpatient care.

The panel list will grow with time but it already includes several institutions, he said, adding every hospital doesn't necessarily have every service (eg obstetrics, dialysis, ortho etc), so each hospital has offered an agreed list of services in agreement with the Sehat Sahulat programme. Noted private hospitals of Islamabad are also not panelled with the programme. However, the official assured that soon more and more hospitals will be included in the panel after increasing their treatment capacities and health facilities.

The programme itself does not explain in clarity which treatment is covered as a very generalised guideline of treatment is mentioned.

Briefing about the programme, a medical expert said the categories of diseases and treatments offered under the Sehat Sahulat Programme were very generalised and did not specify in detail. For example, the official website of the programme states that the cardiac treatment will be covered and patients will be treated free of cost. But no detail is given if the angiography, thallium heart scan, heart stunts and expenses of pre-investigation related to heart are covered under the programme or not, he said.

When the medical expert informed that a hospital in Islamabad refused knee surgery, he was surprised and said the treatment comes under the Rheumatology/ Orthopedic/ Musculoskeletal treatment and management is offered by the programme and it is also present on the official website.

It was also learned that in most of the hospitals, including Riphah International Hospital, patients can only avail treatment under the Sehat Sahulat programme till 4 pm after which the members of the programme providing services leave the hospital.

In Islamabad, only two government hospitals are panelled with the Sehat Sahulat Programme. Apart from these hospitals, 13 private hospitals are also associated with this programme but none is believed to be renowned.

The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Riphah International Hospital, Max Hospital, U Health International Hospital, Akber Niazi Teaching Hospital, Isra Islamic Foundation, HBS Trust, Nuclear, Medicine, Oncology, Radiology Institute, Zobia Hospital, Medikey Cardiac Center, Islamabad Intl Hospital and Research Center, Khatoon Hospital Islamabad, Dr Sadaf Specialised Hospital and Watim Medical College and Hospital are associated with the Sehat Sahulat Programme.