Fate Of 9 THQ Hospitals, BHUs In 14 Districts Hangs In Balance.

KARACHI -- The fate of nine Tehsil Head Quarter (THQ) hospitals in Lahore and the basic health units (BHU) in 14 Punjab districts hangs in the balance as the Punjab government is indecisive about renewal of the contract signed with Punjab Health facilities Management Company (PHFMC) to provide basic health facilities to the people in rural areas and the Lahore city. Sources confided to the The Nation told that due to government's indecisiveness, the health facilities handed over to the PHFMC are facing multiple management issues besides shortage of emergency medicines, insufficient fuel supplies for ambulances and power backup. Patients are suffering due to inadequate emergency services and lack of medicines and equipment required for minor surgeries, they said.

PHFMC is a private limited company registered under section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 and it operates through a CEO. It is one of the 56 companies constituted by former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif during his last tenure.

Nine THQ hospitals of Lahore were handed over to the PHFMC under a contract signed in June 2017. These health facilities include Govt Samanabad Hospital, Govt Ghaziabad Hospital, Govt Eye and General Hospital Swami Nagar, Govt Hospital Shahdara, Govt Gynae Hospital new Karol, Govt Gynae Hospital Chohan Road, Govt Hospital Pathi Ground, THQ Hospital Police line and Govt Hospital Sodiwal. Moreover, all the BHUs and dispensaries in 14 districts - previously run by the District Health Authorities of local governments - were given under the administrative control of the said company under a five-year contract which has expired on June 30, 2022. The 14 districts of Punjab that are in agreement with PHFMC include, Kasur, Lahore, Toba Tek Singh, Pakpattan, Vehari, Hafizabad, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sahiwal, Chakwal, Rahim Yar Khan, Mianwali, Lodharan and Faisalabad. A doctor working at one of the health facilities, on condition of anonymity, told this scribe that basic medical services are being run by the health management company. He...