KP Patients Start Benefiting From Sehat Card Plus Program As Over 52,000 Get Free Treatment

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Feb, 2021 ) :The patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have started benefiting from PTI Government landmark Sehat Card Plus Program where over 52,000 get free treatment from November 1, 2020 to February 14, 2021.

The load of patients in public and private empanelled hospitals of the Sehat Card plus program were increased in KP where over 52,000 residents were benefited during the said period, an official in KP health department told APP on Sunday.

KP has become the first ever province of Pakistan where entire population was insured and Rs one million health insurance to each family covering over 40 million population were provided under universal health coverage (UHC) through Sehat Plus Card (SPC).

From Chitral to DI Khan, all districts have been included in domain of UHC in KP where more than 400 government and private hospitals were placed in the panel list of SPC Program.

Implementation of free healthcare facilities to millions of its people is among one of the responsibilities of any government and basic right of individuals for which they pay the taxes.

The people despite tall claims of previous regimes, were denied of their basic health right in the past and were left at the mercy of private hospitals, clinics and laboratories to save their loved ones while selling their properties, residential plots and dowery amount of their daughters or taking loans at high interest rates to avail the expensive treatment of several fatal diseases including cancers, kidney and heart ailments.

Keeping in view of the hardships of people, the PTI Government took health sector as a challenge and introduced massive reforms in this key sector to ensure free and quality medical, surgical and diagnostic treatment facilities to millions of its people in public sector hospitals of KP.

Treatment facilities in over 400 empaneled public and private healthcare facilities were started following successful completion of the third and final phase of SPC for seven southern districts of KP inaugurated by Chief Minister Khyber Pakthunkhwa, Mahmood Khan, Federal Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan Affairs, Ali Amin Gandapur and KP Minister for Health Taimur Salim Jhagra in DI Khan on February 1, 2021.

Under SPC, each deserving family would avail free treatment up to Rs 1 million per year in the province where more than 40 million inhabitants would directly benefit from this landmark program.

In Peshawar, 28 hospitals were placed under SPC including Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH), Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), IRNUM, Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC), Naseerullah Babar Teaching Hospital, Rehman Medical Institute (RMI), North West Teaching Hospital, Jinnah Teaching Hospital, Fauji Foundation Hospital and Institute of Kidney Diseases (IKDs).

Muhammad Asim, Spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) told APP that free treatment under SPC has been started in the province's largest public sector hospital where special 'SPC Counter' has been setup to facilitate patients. He said load of patients have increased following launching of SPC who were availing free treatment.

"Under SPC, free stents are being provide to heart patients for which they had been paying up to Rs three lakh to Rs 5 lakh in the past," he said.

In Chitral, six hospitals were placed in the panel list including DHQ hospital, Shifa Diagnostic and General Hospital, Boni Medical Centre, Rural Health Centre Mastoj, tehsil headquarters hospital Garam Chesma and Rural Health Centre Mastuj.

Similarly, two hospitals including Ikhlas Medical Centre and Shifa Healthcare hospital in Upper Dir, Itefaq Medical Complex, Medrect International Hospital, Shahid Hussain Orthopedics Hospital, Wahab Medical Complex, Alkhidmat Hospital, Al Imran Surgical Hospital, Nusrat Shaukat Medical Complex and Al Habib General Hospital were empanelled in Lower Dir.

In Malakand district, seven hospitals included in panel including DHQ Hospital Batkhela, THQ Hospital Dargai, Waseem Medical Complex, Bahadar Khan Rozi Khan Memorial Hospital Batkhela, Siraj Shaheed Hospital, Gul Medical Centre Dargai.

Likewise, 14 hospitals were placed in Swat including Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals, Upper Swat General Hospital Khwazakhela, Royal Imperial Hospital Mingora and Anwar Hospital Saidu Sharif besides five hospitals in Shangla including DHQ hospital Alpuri, THQ Hospital Besham, Puran Medical Complex and Shangla Medical Complex.

In Batagram, five hospitals including DHQ hospital Batagram, Shifa General Hospital and Surgical Hospital, Al Noor Specialist Hospital whereas three hospitals in Manshera district including King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, Al Khidmat Khattak Memorial Hospital and Shif Surgical Centre besides 10 hospitals in Abbottabad namely Ayub Teaching Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital, Women and Children Hospital, Pakistan Kidney Centre, Hira General Hospital, Jinnah International Hospital and Allied Specialist Hospital.

In Buner district, two hospitals were empanelled including DHQ hospital and Buner Medical Complex whereas Amna Iqbal hospital and Maher General in Haripur district, 14 hospitals in Swabi including Bacha Khan Medical Complex, Muhammad Sardar Memorial Hospital, Khyber Medical Centre Shah Mansoor, City Polyclinic, 13 in Marndan including Mardan Medical Complex, DHQ hospital, Khyber Hospital Mardan Medical Centre, eight in Nowshera district including DHQ Hospital, Qazi Hussain Ahmed Hospital, five in Charsadda district including Abdali Medical Complex, Khyber Medical and Surgical Centre and Zia Teaching Hospital.

Two hospitals in Kohat district including Liaquat Memorial Hospital and DHQ hospital, five hospitals in Hangu district including DHQ, Al-Shifa Medical and Surgical Centre, Hangu Medical Complex, Civil Hospital and Hangu Medical Complex, DHQ and Karak Medical Complex in Karak district, six hospitals in Bannu namely DHQ, Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital, Professor Medical and Surgical Centre, Bannu Interventional Cardiac Centre, Al-Falah Surgical Centre, four in Lakki Marwat including DHQ, City Hospital, Civil Hospital and Marwat General Hospital, DHQ hospital in Tank district and six hospitals in DI Khan including DHQ, Mufti Mahmood Teaching Hospital, Women and Children Hospital, Misbah International and Al Fateh Medical Centre were placed in the panel list.

An attendant from tribal district Mohmand told APP that he has hospitalized his mother in Lady Reading Hospital where they were getting Rs 5000 medicines free of charge under SPC on a daily basis for which Prime Minister Imran and KP Government deserved full credit and appreciation.

Qaiser Nadeem, another attendant said his brother-in-law was admitted at LRH where they were availing free medical facilities and thanked PTI Govt for such a big initiative in health sector.

To run the program successfully, the KP Government has allocated over Rs18 billion in budget 2020-21 to ensure uninterrupted medical services to millions of inhabitants. All people having computerized national identity card (CNIC) with KP's permanent address are entitled.

"Perhaps nobody can feel the pain which I had gone through when I was diagnosed with cancer. I had spent my entire hard-earned money on treatment of the deadly disease. It gave me immense pleasure that thousands of patients like me were now entitled for free treatment under health plus card," said Khurshid Khan, a patient of cancer, resident of Nowshera while talking to APP.

He said provision of free treatment up to Rs one million for a cancer patient is a considerable amount being extended by PTI government for which people like me was great full to Prime Minister Imran Khan and KP Government. Besides cancer patients, kidney transplant, heart and others chronic patients were now getting free healthcare services.