PHC bans surgery in nine hospitals

LAHORE:The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) banned surgeries in 14 operation theatres of nine hospitals for not implementing the Minimum Service Delivery Standards (MSDS).

A spokesperson for the PHC on Friday stated that continuing with the inspection campaign of private hospitals, the PHC teams also served notices on 12 hospitals for not implementing the MSDS. During the last two days, three operation theatres (OTs) of Niazi Hospital, two each of Asaaf Hospital, Latif Hospital and Lahore Surgical & Gynae Hospital, and one each of National Hospital, Al-Shaad Surgical Services, Hammad Hospital, Turab Hospital Complex and Hina Hospital were closed. Seven hospitals have been barred from conducting any type of surgeries in their OTs.

Moreover, notices were served on 12 hospitals for inappropriate hospital infection control, on 10 hospitals for bad hospital waste management, and on four hospitals for unsafe blood transfusions. The commission has directed the administrations of the hospitals to ensure implementation of the MSDS and submit compliance reports to the PHC for the restoration of the healthcare delivery services and functioning of the OTs.

Expats: Pakistani expatriates are our true ambassadors representing Pakistan around the globe and contributing towards the well-being and strong economy of the country by sending huge foreign exchange. Overseas Pakistanis Commission Punjab Vice-Chairperson Ch Waseem Akhtar stated this while meeting a delegation of expatriate Pakistanis at his office here Friday. Therefore, it is our utmost duty at Overseas Pakistanis Commission to give relief to those patriotic overseas Pakistanis and we are doing our best to fulfil this purpose.

It is the first time in Pakistan that overseas Pakistanis are topmost priority of the government and solid steps are being taken on federal as well as provincial level in this regard. The steps taken by Overseas Pakistanis Commission are exemplary and over 4,500 issues were resolved during 2019. Moreover, as we intend to perform better than before this year, my doors are always open for expatriates. Overseas Pakistanis can also reach out to us through our web portal and round-the-clock helpline service, he added.

PU workshop: Punjab University’s Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) organised a workshop for restoration of several PhD and MPhil programmes. Faculty of Education Dean Prof Dr Abid Hussain Chaudhry, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences Dean Prof Dr Khalid Mehmood, QEC Director Dr Muhammad Saeed, heads and focal persons of various departments were present in the meeting. Speaking on this occasion, Dr Abid Hussain Chaudhry said that last year MPhil and PhD programmes were suddenly closed and the workshop would help restore the programmes.