Minister briefed on PHC performance

LAHORE: The Punjab Healthcare Commission has suspended surgeries in 256 operation theatres of hospitals, and issued show-cause notices to 314 healthcare establishments for not implementing the Minimum Service Delivery Standards.

This was told to Minister Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique and his team during a briefing at the PHC office. Chief Operating Officer Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan said the ongoing campaign of the special inspections was initiated during the first week of January, and prior to this, the PHC had carried out more than 14,000 inspections of the public and private hospitals. About various aspects of the inspections, he said the PHC teams primary inspected those areas which largely affected the masses and patients directly, and these included the hospital infection control, operation theatres, hospital waste management arrangements, emergency services, fire and non-fire emergencies, blood transfusion and complaint management system. Dr Ajmal pointed out the departments of various hospitals which needed immediate attention for improvement.

Appreciating the work done by the PHC, Minister Khawaja Salman said the inspections would go a long way in making performance of the hospitals better.