Health reforms to revolutionise primary and secondary healthcare system

Rawalpindi
The implementation of chief minister’s roadmap for reforms in health sector would bring about a revolution in quality of services being offered to public at primary and secondary healthcare facilities.
The Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafiq has ensured implementation of a number of reforms at primary and secondary healthcare facilities that would improve the quality of services at basic health units, rural health centres, tehsil headquarters hospitals and district headquarters hospitals to a significant level, said Executive District Officer (Health) Rawalpindi Dr. Khalid Randhawa while talking to ‘The News’.
He said the health adviser along with provincial health secretary Jawad Rafiq and Director General Health Punjab Dr. Zahid Pervez took briefing from top officials of health department in Rawalpindi division on improvement needed at primary and secondary public sector healthcare facilities and decided to take measures on immediate basis to revolutionize the healthcare system.
Dr. Randhawa said the health adviser discussed the infrastructure in primary and secondary healthcare system along with filling of vacant posts, availability of essential life-saving drugs and availability and functionality of the equipment in BHUs, RHCs, THQ hospitals and DHQ hospitals. He said the health advisor informed the health officials that under the CM’s roadmap for health reforms, the quality of services at primary and secondary healthcare facilities would be improved to such an extent that it would minimize the burden on tertiary care facilities, the teaching hospitals. He added that a drug list has already been prepared according to which the life saving drugs would be provided to public free of cost at primary and secondary healthcare facilities. For filling of posts of specialists at the primary and secondary healthcare system, the government has announced additional incentives in the shape of allowances that ranges from Rs35000 to Rs90000 per month, said Dr. Randhawa.
He added that for induction of specialists, four centres have been announced, one each in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi. It has been planned that all the vacant posts in primary and secondary healthcare system would be filled within next two months while all required equipment would be made available to public at the two levels during the same time period, said Dr. Randhawa. He said that there would be a proper referral system in health sector within next two months that would certainly minimise the burden of patients at teaching hospitals in town.