Shahbaz stresses effective monitoring of healthcare

LAHORE
CHIEF Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that investment of billions of rupees is being made for the provision of modern health facilities to the masses.
He said an effective monitoring system was of vital importance for ensuring that the people should fully benefit from heavy investment in the health sector. He said commitment and hard work was essential for effective implementation of Health Sector Reforms Programme. He said a crackdown on the elements involved in production and sale of spurious medicines should be continued vigorously. He directed factories producing spurious medicines should be sealed while indiscriminate action should be taken against their owners.
According to a handout issued here Monday, the chief minister stated this while addressing a high-level meeting through a video link at Civil Secretariat.
The meeting decided that all provincial ministers, assembly members, chief secretary, provincial secretaries, RPOs, DCOs and DPOs would adopt a rural or basic health centre, on the pattern of school, and ensure availability of proper medical care in the health facility adopted by them and undertake regular visits in this regard. He directed that a comprehensive plan regarding adoption of health centres be presented in the next meeting.
He said the Punjab government was speedily implementing a health reforms programme for the improvement of medical facilities in government hospitals and rural and basic health centres and the reforms being introduced in the health sector were proving fruitful. He said that provision of quality health facilities to the masses was the top priority of the government. He said targets had been fixed for the improvement of public health facilities and effective measures were being taken for their achievement so that the best treatment facilities could be made available to the citizens. He said the all-out resources would be provided for betterment of public health facilities. He said that institutional framework of all the steps taken for uplift of public health facilities was essential so that this programme could be continued smoothly. He said the process of outsourcing of all drug testing laboratories should be accelerated while medical equipment of all hospitals should be operational and there should not be any complaint in this regard. He directed that a complete survey of medical equipment of hospitals be conducted and such a system be evolved under which the company supplying machinery to the hospitals should also be responsible for its maintenance. He said a conference should be arranged regarding appointment of medical officers in health centres and doctors of private hospitals should also be invited in the conference for seeking their proposals.
The meeting reviewed implementation of health reforms programme while Provincial Secretary Health Jawad Rafiq Malik gave a detailed briefing in this regard.
Investors: Chief Executive of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan SM Munir and Member National Assembly Pervaiz Malik called on Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif here Monday.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that due to the solid measures taken by the government, the foreign investors’ confidence had restored and the country’s economy was strengthening.