KP CM agrees to grant Rs 3.3 bn incentives for doctors, other healthcare staff

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has agreed to grant incentives to doctors and other healthcare staff for attracting them to serve in the rural and remote areas of the province.
A final announcement about the proposed incentives would be made bynext Tuesday, said a handout. The incentives would cost an additional amount of Rs3.3 billion to the exchequer.
Chairing a meeting about issues of health sector at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Pervez Khattak directed the Health Department to assess the needs of all district hospitals of the province and submit a comprehensive plan to equip them with all necessary facilities by June next. He said these facilities must include necessary staff, equipment, installations, medicines, accommodations and buildings renovations.
The meeting also approved direct recruitment of 900 nurses and 500 health technicians on ad hoc basis for which the provincial Public Service Commission had issued no objection certificate. The chief minister directed that equipment for the district headquarters hospitals be procured by the mid of next month. He sought separate PC-1 for meeting the needs of tehsil level hospital as well as rural health centres within a week time.
He asked the health and law departments to work out proposal for running 571 Basic Health Units (BHUs) of the province under community-based autonomous system.The meeting was told that People’s Primary Healthcare Initiatives on expiry of the contract would surrender the BHUs to the provincial government on December 31.The chief minister directed the Health Department to overcome the shortage of accommodation in existing DHQ hospitals and rehabilitation of buildings by June next year.