PESHAWAR: The government has approve d names of the members of the Board of Governors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Healthcare Commission in line with the medical teaching institution law, according to of ficial sources.

They said that a notification in that regard would be issued soon. The healthcare commission is aimed at ensuring provision of quality health services and better healthcare facilities to the patients.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak approved a summary on Tuesday and a proper notification was expected to be issued on Wednesday, official sources said.

The government has approved seven persons as private members of the 10-member Board of Governors of the healthcare commission. They include former director-general health Dr Mohammad Zafar, Dr Qaisar Munir Badshah, Dr Syed Zulfiqar Ali, Dr Abdul Saboor Bacha, retired Col Jehanzeb, Dr Jehangir and Advocate Saima Akbar while three memberswill represent the government from the home and tribal affair department, health department and Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Islamabad.

The government`s members, not below the rank of the additional secretary, would be nominated by the respective department. Unlike the health regulatory authority, which now stands demolished, the healthcare commission will be a powerful body. It will have the powers to seal the health outlets or arrest the people on the spot.

For this purpose, the government has included home and tribal affairs department with a view to ensure the services of police on immediate basis and not to let the commission go the health regulatory authority`s way which was a toothless body with no power to take action.

The health regulatory authority would look towards police for taking action against the errant people but would find it hard to get their services.

Sources said that the healthcare commission had the powers to check the services and infrastructure of both the public and private sector hospitals and diagnostic centres and award them licences on the basis of the quality and standard they maintained.

The commission will also issue certificates to the clinicians and owners of the diagnostic centres on the basisof their services and will be authorised to cancel their licences if they violate thelaw.

`It will take immediate actions, including penalties, arrests and sending to prisons the violators of the law, sources said. It would also give accreditation to the doctors on the basis of their qualification and experience and would specify their consultation fee, they said.

Currently, all doctors in the private sector charge the patients according to their free will but with the establishment of the commission, they wouldn`t be allowed to charge more fee from the patients.

`It has the power to regulate blood banks, operation theatres and emergency services at the public and private hospitals and ensure that the people get quality services,` sources said.

They said that after a notification was issued by the government, the commission would start formal operations in the province. The commission had been tasked to register all clinics and medical centres and award them licences on the basis of their standards, they added.

The commission will hold its first meeting after Eidul Fitr wherein chairman of BoG will be nominated from among the members. It will recruit a chief executive officer on merit, who will be running its affairs, while the Board of Governors will act as supervisory body.