Pakistan Health Ministry to outsource services at PIMS
PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD — The Ministry of National Health Services has initiated steps to outsource diagnostic services at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and other public health facilities.
The ministry has directed the heads of PIMS’ Pathology and Radiology departments to submit plans for outsourcing their services, as per the directives of the Prime Minister’s Coordinator, Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath.
The Federal Health Alliance (FHA), a representative body of employees, is against the initiative, believing that it is a step towards privatization.
“We will resist the move as it will increase problems of patients,” said FHA Chairman Chaudhry Qamar Gujjar, adding that the hospital should instead generate its own funds.
However, Secretary of Health Iftikhar Ali Shallawani defended the move as a “paradigm shift” aimed at improving efficiency and reducing costs for the underprivileged through public-private partnerships.
One doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, argued that outsourcing would expedite the testing process and potentially lower costs compared to private facilities.
“At the moment, a number of employees don’t want to work or they misbehave with patients. However, after outsourcing the diagnostics, patients will get respect and they may have to pay fewer than the private market,” he said, per The Dawn.
