‘No public sector hospital being privatised in Punjab’

LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Health Dr Yasmeen Rashid has said that under the Medical Teaching Institutions Act, the government is not going to privatise any public sector hospital.

She said that revolutionary measures were being taken by the government to facilitate people in the health sector. She expressed the views at a joint press conference with Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Information Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan and Provincial Minister for Information Punjab Mian Aslam Iqbal at DGPR office.

Dr Yasmeen Rashid strongly condemned the rumours being spread regarding the privatisation of public sector hospitals. She said that the government was spending Rs4.5m annually on one batch in a government hospital.

She said the basic purpose to introduce the MTI Act was to ensure the provision of best healthcare facilities to the common man. Neither administrative nor financial power was given to any government hospital in the act introduced in 2003.

She said that by bringing better administration under the MTI Act, quality healthcare facilities would be ensured to patients in public sector hospitals. Directors will be appointed to government hospitals, who will be fully responsible in all affairs of hospitals.

She said that during one year, the PTI government had recruited more than 15,000 doctors on merit. Sehat Insaaf Cards have been distributed among the common man in 28 districts of the Punjab under which a family would be able to access medical facilities up to Rs720,000 free of cost. Annually, three audits would be conducted to all teaching institutions under the MTI Act and the board of governors would be changed any time for negligence.

Performance reports of medical teaching institutions would be presented in the assembly and promotions of doctors and professors would be linked with performance.

She said that the government had a right to ask about the performance after giving employment. She said the government wanted to run outdoor services even in the evening under the act.

She said that treatment expenditures of deserving patients in outdoors would be borne by the government. She said the provision of best healthcare facilities in the government hospitals of Punjab was the basic point of the PTI manifesto.

She said that the system of government hospitals had been ruined due to former corrupt governments.Firdous Ashiq Awan said that providing relief to the people by introducing reforms in every sector of life was the top priority of Prime Minister Imran Khan. One year performance of the Punjab government is highly appreciable.

She said the PTI government had formulated policies by focusing on the solution of problems of the common man.Provincial Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal said that confusion was being created among the masses about the Act. The government believes in spending people’s money on their welfare, he added.