Additional funds being provided for supply of medicines: Salman

LAHORE : Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique said that Punjab government is providing additional funds in addition to the budget for the supply of medicines in government hospitals. Licencing and cleanliness of blood banks of hospitals are also being ensured.

Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique expressed these views while chairing an important meeting with all the commissioners and DCs in the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department on Saturday.

Secretary Health Punjab Azmat Mahmood attended the meeting in person while all the commissioners and DCs participated through video link. The commissioners and DCs shared their suggestions and opinions to improve the conditions of government hospitals. The officers of the health department also gave a briefing on the budget and other matters during the meeting.

Khawaja Salman Rafique, while expressing his views, said that all the stakeholders will have to play their role for the improvement of the health system. Commissioners and DCs will give their feedback on government hospitals in a shortest possible time. Under the leadership of Punjab Chief Minister, historic steps are being taken in the health sector, he added.

He said that out of 58 tertiary care hospitals, 16 are running a queue management system with the help of PITB. In the next phase, there is a plan to bring a queue management system to all other tertiary care hospitals. Instructions have been given to display duty rosters in hospitals and there is no compromise on cleanliness in government hospitals.

The minister said that Asia’s largest Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research is being built in Lahore. State-of-the-art Nawaz Sharif Institutes of Cardiology are being built in Lahore and Sargodha. Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme, Dialysis Programme and Special Initiative for Transplant Programme are flagship programmes in the health sector, he informed.

He said the Department of Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education is working on infection control in government hospitals. E-tendering of parking and cafeteria contracts in hospitals is being done.

Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has further said that the supply of medicines to patients at their homes is being ensured through Pakistan Post through seven cardiac and five cancer hospitals. Punjab Healthcare Commission has been directed to continuously inspect government hospitals, he added.

The Secretary of the Department of Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education, while expressing his views, said that the feedback from the Commissioners and DCs regarding government hospitals will be very important. Efforts are being made to ensure that no patient faces any difficulty in treatment and care in tertiary care hospitals.