LAHORE: The government has invested a significant amount of money in establishing a network of Basic Health Units (BHUs) and Rural Health Centers (RHCs) to provide healthcare services to people at their doorstep. The aim was to reduce congestion at secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities. However, the functioning of these units often leaves much to be desired. A lack of proper monitoring, disengaged staff, and the presence of ghost healthcare professionals and paramedics have led to the underutilization of these facilities, which were built with substantial funding.
It is the responsibility of District Health Officers and other administrative staff to make periodic visits to these centers to monitor their operations. One of the major complaints from patients is the absence of staff at many of these healthcare facilities, with some even functioning only partially.
Reports have surfaced indicating that at some of these centers, particularly in remote areas, no healthcare services are provided. Instead, these buildings are being used to house animals, especially in Sindh. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, some influential individuals have even established these BHUs in their private Hujras, with minimal or no healthcare services provided.
A recent visit to a Basic Health Unit in a district in Punjab revealed that the Medical Officer In-Charge arrives after 10:30 AM and often spends much of the day sleeping, while the compounder attends to patients. Further enquiries revealed that the Medical Officer practices in the city late at night and arrives late to the BHU. Despite this, no one has taken action to address the situation. Additionally, after 2:00 PM, many of these healthcare facilities are officially closed, leaving the premises empty for the rest of the day.
To make the most of these Basic Health Units and Rural Health Centers, it is essential that the government explore Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to allow the private sector to manage and run these facilities. This approach would not only ensure better management but would also enable real-time monitoring, benefiting patients who visit these centers. The government supplies a substantial quantity of medicines to these units, but often these supplies are either misused or sold in the market. An audit could help determine how many patients visit these BHUs and RHCs each month, the services they receive, and if there are any concerns regarding the reluctance of patients to visit these centers.
It is unfortunate that many healthcare professionals are uninterested in performing their duties and are more focused on collecting their salaries. When actions are taken against any staff member for inefficiency or absenteeism, they often resort to strikes.
There was a suggestion some time ago to include local members of parliament and provincial assembly representatives in the monitoring committees. However, healthcare professionals have resisted this idea, expressing a reluctance to be monitored. Running these healthcare institutions through Public-Private Partnerships seems to be the only viable solution. The authorities must take steps to implement this strategy so that these facilities can truly serve the people and contribute to the well-being of the community.
