PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Care Commission is starting performance audit of the three medical teaching institutions in the capital city to identify gaps in patient care.

The first-ever performance audit of Khyber Teaching Hospital, Lady Reading Hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex and other district hospitals would be conducted this month.

A ceremony to sign a contract for the assignment was held between Aazar Sardar, chief executive officer of the commission, and Taimoor Shah, executive director Shifa Foundation, according to a press release issued here on Sunday.

The commission set up under the Healthcare Commission Act, last year, aims to evaluate performance of the hospitals in the province.

The collaboration was a new method to revitalise the healthcare services with focus on quality.

The commission will also carry out audits of the main hospitals in Mardan, Swat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan.

The commission has proposed more penalties to include malpractices in healthcare with a view to safeguarding patients’ right to better facilities, said the release.

The Health Care Commission, the press release said, was also in the process of regulating the private health delivery network by issuing the hospitals with the licences and carrying out inspections to check the quality of services given to the people.