MUHAMMAD SALEEM

LAHORE: There are 94,179 doctors and dentists registered with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) in Punjab, 64,846 nurses, 44,452 lady health workers (LHWs) and 1799 lady health supervisors in the province with a population of 110 million which faces a critical deficit of human resources for health (HRH).

This was revealed in a dialogue on “Human Resources for Health – Policy Implications” held under the auspices of the Punjab Public Health Agency (PPHA) under its Policy Roundtable Series which was attended by the Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Khawaja Imran Nazir, Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Najam Shah, and Member Health, Planning and Development Dr. Shabana Haider.

Globally, it may be added that the vital role of HRH in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Care (UHC) is critically acknowledged and duly emphasized. According to WHO for achieving UHC, global health agencies and the governments need to focus more on improving broader health systems. WHO defines the critical benchmark for minimum levels of HRH as 4.45 per 1,000 population. However, for Pakistan the figure stands at 1.45 per 1,000 population.

It was informed at the event that in order to address the widening gaps, the Punjab government has introduced multiple evidence-driven initiatives over the last few years in an effort to improve UHC. In the context of health professionals, this included development of formative policies i.e. centralized induction policy; Locum Policy for engaging international diaspora in areas where the province faces local shortage; and the age relaxation policy. Other successful HRH interventions introduced by the government in the last three years include establishment of six medical universities, 19 public and 33 private medical colleges, 55 nursing schools and 8 institutions of allied health sciences.

Punjab saw the highest increased ever in the sanctioned posts of doctors and nurses over the last two years whereby there was a 28% increase in sanctioned seats of doctors and 46% in nurses.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare, Khawaja Imran Nazir apprised the audience at the policy roundtable about the recent interventions under taken by the department. He mentioned that the total strength of Doctors across the DHQs, THQs, RHCs and BHUs has increased to 8,000 over the last two years.

Regarding the central induction policy that awards extra points to medical officers (MOs) working in BHUs for the Post Graduate Residency Program, he said due to this policy, the department was able to induct 3614 MOs in BHUs and RHCs increasing the percentage of filled positions from 63% in 2015 to 85% in 2018. Another 1850 MOs were hired in THQs and DHQs, increasing filled positions from 40% in 2015 to 80% in 2018. In addition, sanctioned posts were created for 3600 nurses, 838 specialized consultants, 1315 WMOs seats created and 1140 Emergency Medical Officers’.

Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education, Najam Shah stated that policy reforms are successful only if they have a “pull” effect. “We need health professionals to join hands as we implement these reforms that are targeted towards improving the quality of healthcare service delivery across Punjab”.

He stressed that there is a need to optimize the existing infrastructure, resources and expertise across institutions for the benefit of the people at large. Our beds should be fully occupied and the operation theatres must remain functional 24/7.