LAHORE:Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has inaugurated the new state-of-the-art food preparation facility in the Nursing Hostel of Ganga Ram Hospital here on Wednesday.
The new facility has been developed at a cost of Rs5.6 million and has a capacity to cater to 1,000 patients. It is has fully equipped cooking area, washing area and food storage facility. It has been developed with support of donors and philanthropists.
The health minister said, “This is a major step in provision of free quality food to patients in the hospital.” Fatima Jinnah Medical University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Amir Zaman Khan, Dr Khalid, Dr Hussain Jafri and a number of staff members and students were present on the occasion.
The minister appreciated Jahandad Society for Community Development for providing free food support to patients in the hospital for the last two decades.
Leading businesspersons, philanthropists and donors of Ganga Ram Hospital received awards and shields for their uninterrupted support for the hospital. The minister said free food was provided to the patients by a number of leading business entities in Lahore. “Those serving the humanity selflessly are the best among us. The government is working with them. With joint efforts, we can make life easier for patients and their families,” the minister added.
Previously, food was supplied from different sources and it required a lot of resources in daily supplies, packing and disposal. Now the food for patients at such a large scale can be prepared at the state-of-the-art facility. The supplies can be stored as well and quality controls and hygiene can be maintained there.
The minister also appreciated Prof Dr Amir Zaman Khan for bringing together the donors and developing the facility.
Medics: Post Graduate Medical Institute & Ameer Uddin Medical College Principal Prof Al-Fareed Zafar has called upon all the doctors, nurses and paramedical staff to serve the patients with more zeal and fervour.
He said: “Health is the basic right of every citizen. It is LGH slogan for 2020.” In his message, he said all these institutions like Post Graduate Medical Institute, Ameer Uddin Medical College, Allied Health Sciences School and Nursing College alongwith Lahore General Hospital carry great responsibilities and every person from these institutions should work with dedication and commitment.
The principal said that all those educated and trained from these institutions and working abroad are the ambassadors of Pakistan and their performance would be gauged in perspective of this training school or college. He asked the doctors to focus on research activities to benefit the patients.
He said the government is striving hard and a number of steps have been taken to provide maximum facilities to the masses and we all can hope that 2020 would be the year of providing best possible medical care to the patients in hospitals.
5,615 outlets of quacks sealed in 2019: Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) inspected 17,727 treatment centres in 2019 and closed down 5,615 outlets of quacks. Since its inception, the PHC has sealed 23, 504 treatment centres run by unqualified persons, said a spokesperson for the PHC. The PHC’s enforcement teams have inspected 60,000 treatment centres. As many as 9,884 outlets were closed down in the Lahore division, 5,441 in Faisalabad, 4,025 in Gujranwala, 3,838 in Sahiwal and 3,452 in Multan division.
The Commission’s hearing committees imposed Rs478.30 million fine on the quacks. The PHC has so far registered over 59,000 healthcare establishments. The Commission had arranged 639 capacity-building workshops to improve treatment facilities. As many as 25,500 health professionals of around 21,000 healthcare centres were trained on the minimum service delivery standards (MSDS). “In order to ensure implementation of the MSDS, the Commission has carried out more than 22,000 inspections of 16,575 healthcare centres so far,” said the PHC spokesperson.
