PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has earmarked a huge amount of 35,496.385 million rupees for the health budget of 2017-18 against the previous figure of 25,521.645 million, showing an increase of 39 percent. The amount of Sehat Insaf card has also been increased from 5.5 billion rupees to 6.5 billion accommodating 70 percent of the province’s population.
According to the budget document, institutional reforms have been launched and an Independent Monitoring Unit established to ensure quality and sustainability of the reforms initiatives. All major hospitals in the province have been given statutory autonomy, under Independent Boards of Directors after enactment of MTI law.
The focus of these initiatives is to provide health service to the people of KP. In addition, better pay packages have been introduced for health professionals. Allocation in Budget Estimates 2017-18 for the Health Department has been increased as well.
The Budget of Health Department includes a grant for Provincial Health Institutions and also regular grant-in-aid to various Medical Teaching Institutions (MTIs).
Current revenue expenditure for the year 2017-18 will be 35,496.385 million while the allocated salary and non-salary budget is 23,623.372 million and 11,873.013 million respectively. Similarly, the development Expenditure for the year of 2017-18 has been kept at 16,474.710 million.
Besides, a sum of Rs. 13,780.440 million is to be transferred to the district health offices. Budget estimates for the MTIs include Ayub Medical College Abbottabad 963.380 million, Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad 1,594.854 million, DHQ Hospital Bannu 248.453 million, Women & Children Bannu hospital 144.995 million, Khalifa Gulnawaz Teaching Hospital Bannu 587.186 million, Bannu Medical College 278.551 million, Gomal Medical College D.I.Khan 232.709 million, Mufti Mehmood Mem. Hospital D.I.Khan 313.846 million, DHQ Hospital D.I.Khan 628.537 million, Mardan Medical Complex Mardan 772.031 million, Bacha Khan Medical College Mardan 378.580 million, Nowshera Medical College Nowshera 202.655 million, Qazi Hussain Ahmad Med. Complex Nowshera 499.449 million, Khyber Medical College Peshawar 582.682 million, Postgraduate Medical Institute Peshawar 3,877.362 million, Khyber College of Dentistry Peshawar 294.274 million and Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar 1,652.857 million.
Similarly, for Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar 3,182.586 million has been allocated, for Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar 1,664.972 million, Khyber Girls Medical College Peshawar 377.884 million, Pakistan Institute of Community Ophthalmology Peshawar 69.809 million, Institute of Kidney Disease Peshawar 341.004 million and Bashir Bilour Memorial Children Hospital Peshawar 32.472 million rupees.
Likewise, various posts have been created in different health institutions to provide better health facilities to the people of KP; 1,161 stipendiary slots have been created as well.
An increase has also been brought in monthly stipend for student nurses from Rs. 5,000 to 20,000 as well as HPA extended to MTIs.
