KP seeks additional funds to clear cochlear implant backlog for children

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has asked the provincial government for additional funding to provide free cochlear implants to around 1,000 children with hearing and speech impairment under the Sehat Card Plus programme, according to officials at the Health Secretariat.

Officials said the government is currently allocating Rs4 billion every month for free treatment under Sehat Card Plus, with payments made to empanelled hospitals through the State Life Insurance Corporation, which runs the cashless treatment scheme. Of that amount, around Rs300 million is being spent on free transplants, including Rs150 million for renal transplants and another Rs150 million for cochlear implants, they said.

According to the officials, the number of children needing cochlear implants has risen to about 1,000, which they linked to the procedure’s 100 per cent success rate. They said parents usually bring children for treatment after about a year, when they realise the child cannot hear or speak.

So far, 240 children have received free cochlear implants, mostly at Hayatabad Medical Complex and two private hospitals. Officials said more than 200 children have already availed the facility under the programme and added that a request had been sent to the government to double the allocation for cochlear implants in order to remove the backlog.

They said most children currently on the waiting list are between three and four years old, which they described as the ideal age for the procedure. Officials added that cochlear implants are performed before the age of five for better outcomes. "If government approves the additional money, those on waiting lists will get services within a few months," they added.

Officials said the free health insurance programme, launched in 2016, has benefited more than five million people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at a cost of Rs150 billion. Beneficiaries have received cashless diagnostic and treatment services in areas including cardiac care, gynaecology, women and children’s health, cancer, medicine, surgery, ENT, eye care, orthopaedics, urology and general treatment.

The government began covering free kidney transplants in 2022 and later expanded support to include liver transplants, bone marrow transplants and cochlear implants, as many patients could not afford the high charges for such procedures, officials said.

Transplants and implant support under the scheme

Officials said liver transplant is the costliest procedure covered under the programme, with each case costing Rs6.5 million. Since 2022, 131 people have received financial support for liver transplants. They added that 12 patients have undergone bone marrow transplants, while 292 people have benefited from renal transplants, each of which costs Rs1.4 million.

They said the Institute of Kidney Diseases Hayatabad is among the public sector facilities where renal transplants are carried out. According to officials, the institute has recently strengthened its transplant programme by hiring more transplant surgeons and expanding infrastructure. "The service is also available in private hospitals but government wants to benefit the IKD, the public facility. IKD has also been requesting government to help it in establishing diagnostic facilities required by patients before undergoing renal transplants," they added.

Officials said a single cochlear implant costs Rs2.5 million, but the government wants to support children with hearing problems at an early age so they can begin education and other activities like other children. Doctors involved in the procedure said most beneficiaries belong to poor families and could not afford the treatment on their own, adding that the programme had proved a blessing for them.

Under Sehat Card Plus, each family in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is entitled to free treatment worth Rs1 million annually, while transplant cases are financed from reserved funds because of their high cost, doctors said.

Officials said more than 700 hospitals across the country have been empanelled under the programme, allowing 10.6 million families holding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa identity cards to access free medical services. They added that the total number of transplants and implants carried out under the scheme has reached 610.