PESHAWAR, Feb 03 (APP): After inauguration of Sehat Plus Card in DI Khan district by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Khyber Pakthunkhwa has become the first province of Pakistan where free healthcare services have been extended to the entire population.
In the third and final phase of initiation of the services in Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Lakki Marwat, DI Khan, Tank and Bannu districts by the CM the other day, the process of extending free medical, surgical and diagnostic services up to Rs 1 million per year to each family of over 40 million inhabitants under free universal health coverage has successfully been completed in KP, officials in KP health department told APP on Wednesday.
Initially, over 400 top government and private hospitals had been placed on the penal list of Sehat Plus Card programme for provision of free treatment to poor people of the province and later more hospitals would be included. In DI Khan, more than 300,000 poor families would be directly benefited from this programme.
Prior to inauguration of Sehat Card plus Programme, the project was launched in Malakand, Hazara and Peshawar zones where people had already started availing free treatment facilities under the universal health coverage. The provincial government has allocated Rs18 billion in budget 2020-21 to run the program successfully and ensure uninterrupted medical series to the masses.
All people having computerized national identity card (CNIC) with KP’s permanent address are entitled free medical, surgical and diagnostic besides others relevant services at any of these paneled hospitals under the facility. “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 a sigh of relief to know that now I am entitled for free treatment under Health Card Plus programme,” said Khurshid Khan, a survivor of cancer, resident of Nowshera while talking to APP.
He said provision of free treatment up to Rs one million for a cancer patient was a considerable amount being extended by the PTI government for which people like me was great full to Prime Minister Imran Khan. Besides cancer patients, kidney transplant, heart and others chronic patients would also get free healthcare services.
Meanwhile, Provincial Minister for Finance and Health Taimur Khan Jhagra said that history has been made after KP become first province to provide free healthcare services to entire population. He said health insurance to 100 percent population has been provided to all districts of KP and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of providing free health services to all was materialized.
Taimur Jhagra said anti corona vaccination has formally been started from Feb 3 after its inauguration by the Chief Minister. He said vaccination centres in 280 hospitals had already been established in the province.
KP has initially received 16,000 anti corona vaccines from the Federal Government that was being administered to frontline workers of eight districts. Up till now, 3,194 health workers were affected and 32 lost battle for life due to coronavirus in KP. He said 2484 health workers were imparted training in KP for anti corona vaccination and in first phase priorities was being given to frontline health workers. The minister said that 64,113 healthcare workers were already registered for administration of vaccines to patients.
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