PESHAWAR: The provincial government has planned to allocate funds to upgrade and develop kidney, cardiac and burns health services in Dera Ismail and launch telemedicine project in Peshawar during the next four months.

Three of these projects will be executed in the native town of chief minister-designate Ali Amin Khan Gandapur.

The planning and development department has asked health department to inform it about the cost of four projects to be included in the budget, meant from March to June. It has asked health department to submit concept papers and details proposed by the latter last month so that these could be included in the budget.

The schemes, for which health department has already sought funds, include enhancement of angiography and angioplasty services in Cardiology Hospital and development of Burns Centre at Mufti Mahmood Teaching Hospital and increasing capacity of Kidney Centre Dera Ismail Khan.

The fourth project is starting telemedicine programme in health department. The department has been asked to submit the proposed cost of these programmes and the existing available facilities so that these can be included in Annual Development Programme on immediate basis.

Health dept also intends to launch telemedicine project in Peshawar

Officials said that health department wanted to develop those services in Dera Ismail Khan and provide treatment facilities to people in the local hospital. “Currently, patients come to Peshawar for heart ailments because full-fledged services are not available there. Therefore, we have requested inclusion of these schemes, which require attention at the start of financial year. These schemes were dropped from Annual Development Programme due to financial constraints,” they added.

They said that funds would be allocated for the schemes in the native town of chief minister-designate Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, who had already played important role in the establishment of Burns Centre there. Most of the patients with burn injuries were being shifted to Burn and Plastic Surgery Centre Peshawar where finding a bed was not an easy task because it catered to needs of patients from the entire province, they added.

Officials said that Prof Tahmeedullah, the director of Burns and Plastic Surgery Centre, who helped in establishment of burns ward in Dera Ismail Khan, expressed willingness to further enhance those services there and train the staff so that patients could be handled locally. “Prof Tahmeed has been visiting burn wards in districts but it requires the desired financial support,” they said.

Likewise, patients continued to visit Peshawar for cardiac ailments despite the presence of cardiology hospital there, officials said. They said that Prof Shahkar Ahmad Shah, the medical director of Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC), was already working to upgrade cardiac services at the district level hospitals and reduce the burden patients on Peshawar.

Same is case with kidney services as people suffer due to non-availability of full treatment facilities.

“Under these programme, healthcare services in Dera Ismail Khan will be developed as the chief minister belongs to the same district and allocation of the required amount will not be a major issue,” they said.

Officials said that health department was also considering launching telemedicine project. They said that a project was launched in 2018 in Services Hospital but that no longer existed. They added that the project, headed by late Dr Jamal Nasir, benefitted patients of five districts including Karak, Chitral, Battagram, Swabi and Nowshera.

“Telemedicine has been gaining currency worldwide as patients can avail healthcare services through information technology in far-flung areas,” they said.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2024