Efforts being made to further improve health system: minister

LAHORE : The meeting of vice-chancellors and heads of medical teaching institutions has been informed that various services at government hospitals are being outsourced for the welfare of patients.

“We are making further improvements in the Universal Health Insurance Programme,” said Ali Jan Khan, Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department (SH&MED) and Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD), while addressing the vice-chancellors, principals and medical superintendents’ conference here at a local hotel here on Saturday.

Caretaker Minister for SH&MED Prof Dr Javed Akram chaired the opening session, while caretaker Minister for P&SHD Dr Jamal Nasir also attended the meeting.

The SH&MED Minister Prof Dr Javed Akram and Punjab Health Secretary Ali Jan Khan reviewed the performance of government teaching hospitals during the conference. Prof Dr Javed Akram carried out a detailed review of the performance of all government teaching hospitals in the presence of Vice Chancellors, Principals, all MSs and hospital officials at the conference.

Dr Javed Akram said that the head of every teaching hospital should have the qualities of a leader. The health system of Punjab is much better than other provinces. For the first time in history, so much attention is being paid to improve the health system of Punjab. Providing the best medical facilities to patients coming to government hospitals is among the top priorities.

According to the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi, provision of primary angioplasty facility to patients in all cardiology hospitals has proved to be a game changer. Currently, more than 8,000 patients have undergone primary angioplasty in cardiology hospitals. Medical facilities are being reviewed by visiting various government hospitals of Punjab. Complete vaccination of health professionals in all government hospitals must be ensured. Uninterrupted facility is being provided to the people in Punjab through the Health Facilitation Program. Every patient who comes to government hospitals is a VIP for us. We are trying our best to complete HR in government hospitals. We are trying to provide better health facilities to the people of Punjab. Facilitation is being created for patients coming to government hospitals, the minister said.

Professor Dr Javed Akram further said that health screening in educational institutions of Punjab will prove to be a game changer. We are trying to promote research in medical institutions of Punjab.

The caretaker provincial minister of primary and secondary health care department Dr Jamal Nasir said that he is lucky to have a chief minister like Syed Mohsin Naqvi and a teacher like Prof.

Dr Javed Akram. Primary and secondary health care is the department of doing well to people. There is no passion greater than serving humanity. A hardworking and honest person never faces any difficulty in life. The caretaker cabinet of Punjab has no agenda other than public service. We are trying our best to improve the conditions of government hospitals of Punjab, he said.

Secretary Health Punjab Ali Jan Khan said in his opinion that there should be no shortage of medicines in any government hospital of Punjab. The heads of the hospitals should play their role to make it easier for the patients. We are trying to improve the conditions of nursing colleges of Punjab. No lapse in service delivery will be tolerated in government hospitals. Shortage of human resource in government hospitals is being addressed on priority basis. Efforts are being made to revamp the infrastructure of government hospitals. We are trying to ensure availability of biomedical equipment, he said. Special Secretaries Raja Mansoor Ahmed and Syed Wajid Ali Shah, Additional Secretaries Zahida Azhar, Shahida Farrukh, Rashid Irshad, Dr. Hafiz Shahid Latif, Ashfaq ur Rahman, Muhammad Waseem, Agha Nabil, Chief Planning Officer Abdul Haq Bhatti, Deputy Secretaries and other officials participated in the conference.

Vice Chancellor Fatima Jinnah Medical University Prof Dr Khalid Masood Gondal, Vice Chancellor King Edward Medical University Prof. Dr. Mahmood Ayaz, Vice Chancellor University of Child Health Sciences Prof. Dr. Masood Sadiq, Vice Chancellor Nishtar Medical University Professor Dr. Rana Altaf, Vice Chancellor Rawalpindi Medical University Professor Dr. Umar, Vice Chancellor Faisalabad Medical University Professor Dr. Zafar Chaudhry and Pro Vice Chancellor University of Health Sciences Professor Dr. Nadia Naseem also participated in the conference. Principal Ameeruddin Medical College Prof. Dr. Sardar Zafar Al Farid, Principal Allama Iqbal Medical College Prof. Dr. Nadeem Hafeez Butt, Principal Services Institute of Medical Sciences Prof. Dr. Zohra Khanum, Executive Director Punjab Institute Neurosciences Prof. Dr. Asif Bashir and other principals were also present in the conference.

CEO Mayo Hospital Prof. Dr. Haroon Hamid, MD Children's Hospital Lahore Prof. Dr. Tipu Sultan, CEO Punjab Institute of Cardiology Prof. Dr. Anjum Jalal, CEO Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr. Ali Razaq, DG Nursing Punjab, MS Services Hospital Dr. Munir Ahmed Malik, MS Gangaram Hospital Dr. Aamir Saleem, MS General Hospital Dr. Nudrat, MS Jinnah Hospital Dr. Yahya Sultan, MS PIC Dr. Tahsin and others participated.