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PESHAWAR, Jan 22 (APP):Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi chaired an important meeting of the Health Department here on Thursday and directed authorities to accelerate work on ongoing health sector reforms, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive and sustainable strategy instead of short-term firefighting measures.
The CM stressed that to reduce the burden on major hospitals, revamping of primary and secondary healthcare facilities must be expedited.
He also directed discouragement of unnecessary patient referrals, stating that avoidable referrals are causing hardships for patients and increasing pressure on tertiary care hospitals.
For unavoidable referrals, he instructed the establishment of solid justification mechanisms and a centralized bed management system.
Sohail Afridi directed officials to present practical proposals for increasing bed capacity in MTI hospitals and Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
He further emphasized special attention to pediatric services and instructed that a dedicated budget for children’s treatment be allocated under the Sehat Card.
The CM also ordered early finalization of burden-sharing arrangements and related rules and regulations with private hospitals included in the Sehat Card program.
He directed arrangements for hostels near hospitals for doctors to facilitate better service delivery.
Addressing hospital management, Afridi instructed hospitals to upgrade their systems, ensuring that test results are not delayed due to system link-down issues.
He further directed that major hospitals should have a shared, regularly updated dashboard for improved coordination and monitoring.
Highlighting the importance of social sectors, Sohail Afridi said that health and education are directly linked to the public and must be given special attention.
He reaffirmed that public health remains the top priority of the government and assured that lack of resources would not be allowed to hinder healthcare improvements.