Institute of Neuro Sciences to be operational by April, says minister

LAHORE
Excise, Taxation, Law and Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman has said on the instructions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif additional grant will be provided for making Punjab Institute of Neuro Sciences (INS) operational, Rs 650 million is being spent during current fiscal year and the emergency ward of the INS will be made operational by April.
He said 50 acres of land at Burki Road and required funds were being provided for construction of state of the art kidney and liver transplant institute. According to a handout issued on Sunday, the minister while talking to a delegation of family physicians, LHWs and women, said the government was using all available resources for providing better healthcare facilities to people especially mother and child in the province and priority areas of the targets were rural folk. He said women representation has been made compulsory in all government institutions, autonomous boards, development and research centres and 25 thousand women have got right of representation under the law. He 20 per cent birth deliveries are attended by skilled birth attendants and this ratio would be increased more than 90 percent by 2015 whereas contraceptive prevalence rate is 36 per cent that would be increased up to 55 percent by 2015.
The minister said the government considers dignity of the prestigious medical profession and will redress problems being faced by the medical community including paramedics.
health insurance: Punjab Cooperative Minister Muhammad Iqbal Channar has said the Health Insurance Card Scheme is being launched with Rs 4 billion for providing free treatment facilities to law income people in government hospitals and private medical institutions. He expressed these views while talking to a delegation of doctors. He said Rs 8.75 billion will be provided for free medicines and healthcare facilities to the poor while funds of Rs 60 crore have been provided for dialysis of the kidney patients. He said mobile health units will be provided in backward districts especially areas of South Punjab for which one billion rupees have been allocated. He said role of lady health workers, visitors and paramedics will be made more active. He said the government has started a number of projects with the cooperation of various donor institutions for providing medical facilities to mothers and children especially newborns. He said besides availability of doctors and medical staff, provision of birth kits, medical gadgets and necessary medicines is being ensured in health centres. The minister said besides provision of two billion rupees for achieving millennium development goals, provincial government especially provided additional budget to health and education departments.
He said funds of Rs 1.8 billion have been provided for ensuring medical facilities and medicines to babies while Rs 12 billion funds will be released for setting up three new hospitals for children in the province. Two billion rupees have been earmarked for controlling epidemic diseases, he added.