PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Thursday directed the relevant authorities to complete the Revamping of Secondary Care District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospitals project by the end of the current fiscal year, emphasizing that no further delay in this critical public welfare initiative will be tolerated.
He instructed all departments concerned to accelerate the pace of work and ensure the project’s timely completion.The chief minister issued the directives while chairing a meeting at the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar to review progress on the revamping of DHQ hospitals across the province.
The meeting reviewed the progress achieved so far, key implementation challenges, and the way forward. Relevant officials briefed the chief minister on various aspects of the project.The chief minister directed that hospitals requiring relatively less development work be prioritized for early completion and operationalization to ensure the public gains timely access to modern, quality healthcare services.
He instructed the relevant authorities to promptly identify and remove all bottlenecks hindering implementation, reiterating that avoidable delays would not be acceptable under any circumstances.
The chief minister said the project’s progress would be reviewed again in three months and stressed that a clear and substantial headway must be achieved before the next review.Sohail Afridi observed that, alongside the rehabilitation and upgradation of DHQ hospitals, Rural Health Centres (RHCs) and Basic Health Units (BHUs), the establishment of the proposed Health City is equally essential and remains one of the provincial government’s top priorities.
He directed the relevant authorities to further expedite work on the Health City initiative so that it could move into the implementation phase at the earliest.The chief minister also directed the authorities to take all necessary measures for the early completion of the Khyber Institute of Child Health and other ongoing health sector projects, assuring them of the provincial government’s full support in achieving these objectives.
Earlier, officials informed the meeting that four separate PC-I schemes, with a cumulative approved cost of Rs33.085 billion, had been approved for the revamping of 32 secondary care DHQ hospitals across the province.
The meeting was told that the procurement of modern medical equipment worth Rs2.55 billion had been completed and that the equipment had already been delivered to the respective hospitals. In addition, infrastructure designs for the hospitals have been approved, while civil works are expected to commence shortly.
