F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Under the Sehat Card Scheme of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, over 1.2 million patients of various diseases have been treated free of cost so far at a cumulative cost of Rs. 29.5 billion. Under the scheme, free treatment facilities are available to the patients in 1115 empaneled hospitals both of public & private sectors across the country including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Annual cost of the program is approximately Rs.23 billion.
This was told in a meeting held regarding Sehat Card Scheme on Thursday with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan in the chair. Secretary health Aamir Tareen, Special Secretary to CM Masood Younas, Focal Person to CM Muhammad Khaliq, Project Director Dr. Riaz Tanoli and other relevant officials attended the meeting.
Briefing about the details of free treatment facilities provided under the scheme, it was informed that so far one lakh six thousand cardiac patients have been treated free of cost.
Similarly, one lakh and eighty-six thousand gynae patients and 58 thousand cancer patients have been treated till date under the scheme.
Besides 85 cases of kidney transplant and 9 cases of liver transplant have also been carried out under the scheme.
Expressing his satisfaction over the progress so far made under the Sehat Card Scheme, the chief minister has directed the quarters concerned to include free treatment facility of Bone Marrow Transplant in the scheme adding that a formal proposal to this effect be submitted for approval as soon as possible.
He said that Bone Marrow Transplant was an expansive treatment and out of the reach of common man; our ultimate goal was also to facilitate the common man as maximum as possible, he remarked. Mahmood Khan said that his government will provide the required financial resources for this purpose on priority basis.
He further said that the provincial government was fully committed to make Sehat Card Program more comprehensive adding that work was also in progress to include all types of treatments in the Sehat Card Scheme.
He further directed the authorities to include all public hospitals of the province fulfilling the required criteria into the panel in order to facilitate the people.
However, he directed to ensure strict implementation of prescribed criteria in the selection of the hospitals.
