PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a bill to declare tuberculosis a ‘notifiable disease’ and thus, promising free diagnosis and treatment of patients of the major infectious disease in the province.

According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tuberculosis Notification Bill 2016 tabled by health minister Shahram Tarakai, it is expedient to declare tuberculosis a notifiable disease through registered medical practitioners, private clinics, private hospitals, registered practitioners, community leaders and in charge of a covered premises by formulating tuberculosis notifications forms through the provincial government.

It will help effectively implement tuberculosis control and prevention programme and provide free diagnostic and treatment services to tuberculosis patients.

The bill says the private sector healthcare providers frequently lack up to date expertise in the tuberculosis treatment protocols and treating TB patients in an irrational and ineffective manner and as such fails to report TB cases to district health authorities.

Minister promises probe into ‘anomalies’ in Lakki medicine procurements

According to it, tuberculosis is spreading at a phenomenal rate making people suffer and endangering public health.

Under the passed bill, the district health officers will be bound to maintain a database of all TB-related notifications, arrange seminars and workshops in collaboration with the national and provincial programmes for public and private health practitioners, private clinics, private hospitals, community leaders and in charges of covered premises, and hold diagnosis, treatment and managements without delay upon receiving notification forms.

With Speaker Asad Qaisar in the chair, the house also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tibb and Homeopathic Employees (Appointment) Bill 2016 and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faculty of Paramedical and Allied Health Sciences Bill 2016.

Earlier, JUI-F MPA Noor Saleem Khan told the house during question hour that most of the medicines and medical equipment procured during the last two years for hospitals in Lakki Marwat district were actually not provided to those health facilities.

He insisted the details provided by the health department in response to his question on the procurement of medicines and equipment in question were ‘faulty’.

The lawmaker said according to the health department’s reply, 30 electric water coolers, 15 wheelchairs and several oxygen cylinders had been provided to the rural health centre in Titterkhel area of Lakki Marwat from 2014 to date, while 50,000 painkillers, 2,500 syringes and other medicines and equipment had been purchased for the Masha Mansoor BHU during the period.

“Surprisingly, the medicines and equipment were not provided to the RHC as I learned during several visits to the centre,” he said.

The MPA said the question should be referred to the relevant house committee for discussion.

However, the health minister instead of responding to the lawmaker’s observations, said, “the (health) department has given response in detail.”

He said a team of the health department along with Noor Saleem would visit the relevant hospitals in two weeks to look into the alleged irregularity.

Noor Saleem later told Dawn that the health department had provided him with 100-page documents in response to his query.

“The medicine procurements seem to have taken place on paper only,” he said.

The speaker deferred the question for another day asking the minister to inform him about the reply in the next session.

In a question, PTI MPA Yaseen Khalil challenged the educational qualification of Mother and Neonatal Child Health provincial coordinator Dr Sahib Gul.

He insisted Dr Sahib Gul had secured MBA degree from Al-Khair University Azad Jammu and Kashmir in 2000 without taking either a leave or a mandatory NOC from the health department.

The lawmaker asked how Dr Sahib Gul completed his degree in AJK in two years during which the records showed he served in Peshawar.

He insisted the reply of the health department to his query was wrong.

Mr. Yaseen Khalil demanded that the government remove the MNCH coordinator from his current post for some days to conduct a transparent inquiry into the matter.

The health minister didn’t defend Dr Sahib Gul and asked the MPA to meet him on the matter.

The speaker deferred the question for the next day.

The health minister also struggled to respond to questions regarding the poor condition of government hospitals across the province.

In response to every question placed on the session’s agenda, he said, “the health secretary is sitting in the lobby hearing it. We will sort it out.”

PML-N MPA Raja Faisal Zaman said the health-related issues existed in every district and that problems in the health department shouldn’t be taken lightly.

He said the minister should come to the house well prepared to respond to the questions made by members.

The chair later adjourned the session until today (Tuesday).

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2016