PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has released funds to all outsourced hospitals, except four health facilities, after lapse of six months, according to sources.

They said that the employees of the outsourced hospitals would start getting salaries after six months following release of funds by the government last week.

However, the four hospitals, which have not gotten funds, are likely to slash services for not getting their amount unpaid since October last. “The employees working in the four hospitals are yet to get their salaries owing to non-approval of funds by the finance department,” said sources.

They said that government had been contracting out its underperforming health centres in the province to private organisations for management under Public-Private Partnership Act, 2016, to improve patient care. So far, 19 hospitals had been handed over to private parties in the province, they added.

Sources said that eight of the hospitals were outsourced in 2019 and 11 in 2022, mostly in erstwhile tribal areas, because doctors, paramedics and nurses were not willing to be posted in the remote and insecure localities. It prompted the government to introduce public-private partnership and improve patient care, they said.

These health facilities need Rs2.6 billion per year to run their affairs

“Under the agreements inked with the private partners by the government, the former would ensure presence of staff including specialists and female doctors to facilitate local patients,” said sources.

However, most of these hospitals had not received funds since October 2022 due to which staff was either on partial strike or resigned for want of salaries. Owners of these hospitals had been demanding of the government to release about Rs900 million outstanding dues to them but the government wanted to hold probe into financial affairs and conduct clinical audit of the hospitals before release of funs.

“The caretaker cabinet decided to release their dues to ensure provision of healthcare services to people,” said sources.

Last week, the government released their unpaid dues of more than Rs800 million. However, one of the major partners, which is running seven hospitals of the 19 outsources health facilities, has received funds for three of them and is waiting for funds meant for the four others.

Sources said that those hospitals required Rs2.6 billion per year from the government and would receive the same amount in quarterly instalments.

Partner organisations also allege that health department has not been honouring the contract reached with them and has been using delaying tactics in release of their dues, which is causing unrest among the employees.

Specialist doctors at Mamad Gat Hospital in Mohmand district quit quit their jobs for lack of salaries while in many other hospitals such as tehsil headquarters hospital Mirali, North Waziristan, employees had not been paid for more than six months. “As a result, there is drastic decline in number of patients. The number of people at OPDs has dropped to 20 from 300 during the past few months,” said sources.

They said that in some hospitals, the government was deducting the amount in lieu of salaries of employees, who were not present there. As per agreements, the government is required to allocate funds on quarterly basis to the NGOs, who need to recruit staff, install and maintain equipment and carry out repair in timely manners.

In other hospitals, there are scores of Class IV-employees, who have been hired by the government because their families have given land for construction of these same facilities but their salaries are deducted from the contract partners.

Dr Adnan Taj, the managing director of Health Foundation, a public sector body on the recommendation of which health department offered public sector hospitals to private organisations, said that government had allocated the outstanding amount. He hoped that healthcare activities would remain in progress.

“The government wants to extend all facilities to patients in the province, therefore, we are looking towards the partner organisations to improve services,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2023