PESHAWAR: The government is introducing referral system to reduce burden of patients on the tertiary care hospitals and provide better treatment to those, who are suffering from chronic diseases and critical injuries, according to officials.

The measure is being taken in line with the Medical Teaching Institution Law implemented by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to improve patients` care at the state-run hospitals. Directives in this regard are being issued to the entire primary and district level hospitals to refer the patients toPeshawar only when they don`t have facilities for them, the officials say.

Currently, the patients are rushed to Peshawar without any referral chit from their native towns` doctors. Officials said that People`s Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI), a national organisation, used the referral proformas to refer patients from basic health units to rural health centres and beyond.

The PPHI, which manages more than 500 basic health units in17 districts of the province, could be reached for a province-wide referral system from BHU to tertiary hospitals.

Officials said that district level facilities would write if a patient was transported to another hospital that he or she had lef t against medical advice. `There will be a proper audit about admission,` they said.

`Actually we floated the idea because 50 per cent patients coming from different districts are curable at their native hospitals and we want to develop a proper referralsystem,` Dr Tahir Shah, one of the 10-member Board of Governors (BoGs), of the Lady Reading Hospital, told Dawn.

Only the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital receives 4,000 patients in 24 hours, which causes additional burden on staff and leaves room for medical mistakes that harm the patients.

`We have about 15 appendix and other minor operations in LRH every day. These could be done in local hospitals and as a result patients with chronic illnesses have to wait for longer period,` he said.

The BoGs wasted much of its time since it was established five months ago because of its wrangling with employees, including doctors, paramedics and nurses, who are unwilling to opt for new system, but LRH is still ahead of Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar and Ayub Teaching Complex Abbottabad which have yet to make the desirable progress.

These hospitals are now free ofhealth department. These will now be run by medical, hospital and nursing directors, who will implement the new policy on the advice of the BoGs. The BoGs couldn`t take any administrative decisions as these posts are yet tobe hlled.

Dr Tahir said that referral system would ease workload on the hospitais and patients would receive proper care. `We are establishing pharmacy with three-month stock from where all essential and lifesaving drugs could be provided to the serious patients. Currently, LRH locally purchase drugs on patient to patient basis which is highly expensive.

Dr Tahir said that the hospital pharmacy would procure drugs manufactured by standard companies after approval by committees of senior professors.

He said that maintenance and cleanliness were other priorities.

Repairs of lifts, making operational MRI, CT scanners and other investigative facilities, were desperately needed to strengthen the hospital, he added.