PESHAWAR, Sept 21: Pakistan Medical Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has moved the Peshawar High Court against handing over of basic health units (BHUs) in 17 districts and three agency hospitals to People’s Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) besides several rural health centres to national and international NGOs.

In a petition the PMA provincial president, Dr Hussain Ahmad Haroon, requested the court to take notice of this matter as it amounted to privatisation of health infrastructure in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was contrary to judgments of the superior courts.

The petitioner stated that BHUs in 17 districts and three agency hospitals had been handed over to the PPHI. He added that an NGO was responsible for the services of PPHI in the province.

Mr Haroon stated that the health department had given Timergara district headquarters hospital to an international NGO, Medical Sans Frontier (MSF).

He said that since last two years a rural health centre at Nahqi area in Peshawar had been given to another NGO Abaseen Health Foundation, whereas the health units in Batagram district were given under an international NGO, Save the Children.

The petitioner claimed that rural health centre at Kalam in Swat was given to brother of an MPA, which the government claimed was being run on public-private partnership. However, no such policy existed, he said.

He stated that the BHUs and RHCs were public properties and national assets. The petitioner contended that now when the provincial government had declared functions of the health department as essential service no health unit could be given to private sector, especially when the department had got over 40,000 employees, a full-fledged basic service structure, a director general health, secretary health and executive district officers.

He claimed that the privatisation of BHUs and RHCs did not exist in any other province. He pointed out that in a judgment in 2003 the Supreme Court had reinstated some doctors who were sacked while agitating against proposed privatisation of health institutions in 1999. He said that the court had ruled that no privatisation of RHCs, BHUs and hospitals could take place.

The petitioner said that the matter was urgent because of the fact that the staff in the hospitals belonged to government and they had been paid from government exchequer.

He said that now private sector would take benefit of the money invested in BHUs and RHCs besides trained staff, including technicians and paramedics.