PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has decided in principle to expand the free treatment facilities under Sehat Card scheme by including more public and private hospitals in its panel. He has directed the quarters concerned to immediately convene a meeting of policy board to accord final approval for inclusion of those hospitals that meet quality standards of the scheme in the list. However, he made it clear that no compromise should be made on the laid down criteria for hospitals in that regard. He said that special attention should be given to the distance between hospitals and population to ensure that at least one hospital at tehsil level was on the panel of Sehat Card scheme. He issued these directives while chairing a meeting of health department here on Monday. The meeting was attended by Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Ehtesham Ali, Additional Chief Secretary Planning and Development Ikramullah Khan, Health Secretary Syed Adeel Shah and senior officials of health department and its subsidiary organisations including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Foundation and Sehat Card Plus. CM terms provision of healthcare facilities to residents of remote areas top priority The meeting thoroughly discussed empanelment of more hospitals under Sehat Card scheme, outsourcing of hospitals in remote districts and reforms in health sector. It also reviewed financial and other relevant matters of already outsourced public hospitals in certain districts of the province. The chief minister directed finance department to immediately clear the dues to ensure resumption of healthcare services in outsources hospitals. The meeting also deliberated on outsourcing additional hospitals through Health Foundation. Health department was directed to present proposals for outsourcing more hospitals under public-private partnership model by next month. The meeting decided to simplify the existing complicated process of hospital outsourcing by making necessary amendments to relevant legal framework. It decided to constitute a steering committee with chief minister as its chairman to streamline the entire process of hospitals’ outsourcing. The meeting also decided to provide free medicines to children suffering from haemophilia in collaboration with Roche Pharmaceuticals Company. The cost of these free medicines will be shared equally by the provincial government and the company. Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that providing healthcare services to residents of remote areas at local level was one of the priority areas of government. He said that efforts were being made to strengthen basic health centres.