Free health card treatment restored in KP hospitals

PESHAWAR: The facility of free treatment on health card has been restored in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from today (Tuesday).

The State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLICP) is set to resume free health services to patients in the province under the Sehat Card Plus Programme.

Due to the financial crisis in KP, health card treatment in Medical Teaching Institutions (MTIs) hospitals was closed from October 19, 2023, but now patients will be treated free of charge through health card in all major hospitals of the province.

The Health Department has released the official list of hospitals on the panel of ‘Sahat Sahulat Program’, according to which patients will get free treatment facility in 118 hospitals of the province.

After rehabilitation, all health card counters have been opened in the hospitals and five billion rupees have been released to the insurance company SLICP.

Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had announced restoration of the programme last week. He had also stated that the free health care package would begin from the first of Ramazan.

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So far, more than three million people have been admitted to hospitals on health cards in the province.

Meanwhile the health department has officially announced a ban on significant decisions by the board of governors of all MTIs hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a formal notification to this effect has been issued.

This ban encompasses new recruitments, placements, promotions, purchases, dismissals, and the issuance of new tenders in MTI hospitals and affiliated institutions.