‘Strategy devised to overcome doctors’ shortage in Punjab teaching hospitals’

LAHORE: Secretary Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Najam Ahmad Shah has said that multi-dimensional strategy would be adopted to overcome the shortage of specialist doctors in teaching hospitals and specialised healthcare institutions. He directed that special steps should be taken to overcome the shortage of specialists in the critical fields.

He stated this while chairing a meeting to evaluate the shortage of specialist doctors in the teaching hospitals and specialised healthcare institutions, according to a handout issued here Wednesday.

Special Secretary Health Dr Sajid Mehmood Chohan, Additional Secretary Admin Raja Mansoor, Dean Children Hospital Professor Dr Masood Sadiq, MS Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Fiaz Butt, MS Jinnah Hospital Dr Sohail Saqlain, Executive Director Strategic Management and Internal Policy Unit Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathor, Consultant Ms Aimen Majeed and the officers from Project Management Office Specialised Healthcare Department attended the meeting.

Najam Ahmad Shah directed that all measures should be adopted to fill the gaps of specialist doctors in the hospitals and PGship should be conducted constantly besides increasing the seats for PGship in such specialties where the acute shortage is being faced.

He pointed out that the hospitals are facing acute shortage of anaesthetics due to that patients have to wait for operations/procedures for long time. He directed that special attention should be given to produce more and more anaesthetics for resolving the problems of the patients. He also directed that procedural formalities should be completed on fast track for hiring the services of specialist doctors through Locum system.