KARACHI, April 23: The provincial minister for health, Dr Sagheer Ahmad, has said that there is a dire need to ensure that private sector healthcare facilities contribute to the public good and are not violating the norms of ethics and morality.
With the government currently having no records on private hospitals, clinics, dispensaries and other related establishments, it is impossible for it to have a system to monitor the quality of care and treatment at these facilities, Dr Ahmed said.
He added that the provincial health department is in the process of making laws in this regard, in consultation with private sector hospitals and health establishments. The laws will deal with areas such as staffing, the standard of clinical care, quality of services and will also set the standard of medical practice.
The minister was responding to questions at a press conference held to announce the holding of the first Health Expo at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), which is scheduled to be held from October 3-5, 2009.
The attention of the minister was drawn to news reports stating that a young student had recently been refused emergency medical care at a private hospital after a road traffic accident. The girl was later declared dead on arrival at Abbasi Shaheed hospital.
The minister said that the Sindh governor had already ordered an inquiry into the death of the university student and action would be taken in the light of the recommendations made.
“However, at this point I will let everyone know that private hospitals are bound to treat patients reporting to them, irrespective of their caste, creed and financial status,” he added, saying that no hospital was allowed to refuse patients reporting to the casualty department on the pretext of the matter being a “police case”.
Dr Ahmad was of the opinion that private hospitals had taken advantage of the fact that government sector health establishments have failed to live up to the public’s expectations. He said the government needs to invest significantly in public health sector facilities, particularly in primary and basic healthcare. He said that unless this was done, the burden of patients on tertiary care and teaching hospitals would continue to increase.
Dr Ahmad said he wished the government could have a system of appointing doctors on a nontransferable, facility-based and contractual basis.
‘Prevention better than cure’ expo Speaking on the health expo, which is titled ‘Prevention is better than cure’, health minister Ahmad said it was a positive development, as the major burden of Sindh’s healthcare system currently comes from diseases which are largely preventable. He said it was logical to focus on creating awareness of the matter.
The vice-chancellor of DUHS, Prof Dr Masood Hameed Khan, said that the university’s Health Expo was another step in the continuous efforts of the university to bring together members of the health industry of the country for the common objective of increased health awareness amongst the general public.
“The masses in Pakistan are facing many problems,” he said, “like mental and physical illnesses, tuberculosis, diarrhea, diabetes, viral hepatitis, HIV/Aids and other illnesses due to poverty and lack of awareness.” Prof Khan said that he and his team of faculty members had planned the expo to help create greater awareness of the available resources and prevention programmes.
He said that the exhibition was being held with the collaboration of various public and private agencies and organisations on a “no profit and no loss basis” and would also incorporate a number of academic and public awareness symposia and workshops involving the general public, who will be allowed free access to the venue of the expo. There will also be stalls introducing products and services available from local and international providers.
karachi, april 23: the pro- vincial minister for health, dr sagheer ahmad, has said that there is a dire need to ensure that private sector healthcare fa- cilities contribute to the public good and are not violating the norms of ethics and morality. with the government current- ly having no records on private hospitals, clinics, dispensaries and other related establish- ments, it is impossible for it to have a system to monitor the quality of care and treatment at these facilities, dr ahmed said. he added that the provincial health department is in the proc- ess of making laws in this regard, in consultation with private sec- tor hospitals and health estab- lishments. the laws will deal with areas such as staffing, the standard of clinical care, quality of services and will also set the standard of medical practice. the minister was responding to questions at a press confer- ence held to announce the hold- ing of the first health expo at the dow university of health sciences (duhs), which is scheduled to be held from october 3-5, 2009. the attention of the minister was drawn to news reports stat- ing that a young student had re- cently been refused emergency medical care at a private hospital after a road traffic accident. the girl was later declared dead on arrival at abbasi shaheed hospi- tal. the minister said that the sindh governor had already or- dered an inquiry into the death of the university student and ac- tion would be taken in the light of the recommendations made. “however, at this point i will let everyone know that private hospitals are bound to treat pa- tients reporting to them, irre- spective of their caste, creed and financial status,” he added, say- ing that no hospital was allowed to refuse patients reporting to the casualty department on the pretext of the matter being a “police case”. dr ahmad was of the opinion that private hospitals had taken advantage of the fact that gov- ernment sector health establish- ments have failed to live up to the public’s expectations. he said the government needs to in- vest significantly in public health sector facilities, particularly in primary and basic healthcare. he said that unless this was done, the burden of patients on tertiary care and teaching hospi- tals would continue to increase. dr ahmad said he wished the government could have a system of appointing doctors on a non- transferable, facility-based and contractual basis. ‘prevention better than cure’ expo speaking on the health expo, which is titled ‘prevention is bet- ter than cure’, health minister ahmad said it was a positive de- velopment, as the major burden of sindh’s healthcare system cur- rently comes from diseases which are largely preventable. he said it was logical to focus on creating awareness of the mat- ter. the vice-chancellor of duhs, prof dr masood hameed khan, said that the university’s health expo was another step in the continuous efforts of the univer- sity to bring together members of the health industry of the country for the common objec- tive of increased health aware- ness amongst the general public. “the masses in pakistan are facing many problems,” he said, “like mental and physical illness- es, tuberculosis, diarrhea, diabe- tes, viral hepatitis, hiv/aids and other illnesses due to poverty and lack of awareness.” prof khan said that he and his team of faculty members had planned the expo to help create greater awareness of the availa- ble resources and prevention programmes. he said that the exhibition was being held with the collabo- ration of various public and pri- vate agencies and organisations on a “no profit and no loss basis” and would also incorporate a number of academic and public awareness symposia and work- shops involving the general pub- lic, who will be allowed free ac- cess to the venue of the expo. there will also be stalls introduc- ing products and services availa- ble from local and international providers.
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