Seven mother, child hospitals being built: Yasmin

LAHORE:Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has emphasised the need to ensure safe treatment of patients in healthcare settings. She was speaking at a seminar organised at Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMU) in connection with the World Patient Safety Day 2021 here on Friday. The theme of World Patient Safety Day 2021 is ‘Safe Maternal and Newborn Care’.

The health minister also led a walk for awareness on patient safety in the University. FJMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Amir Zaman Khan, Focal Person for Patient Safety and Quality Dr Hussain Jaffery, WHO Head of Office Punjab Dr Jamshed Ahmed, Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shirin Khawar, MS Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Athar, Prof Javed Ch, faculty members and a large number of students attended the seminar.

Speaking on the occasion Dr Yasmin said the World Patient Safety Day was an opportunity to renew pledge for safe treatment of patients. As doctors we must ensure no patient faces harm in healthcare settings. By taking some extra measures, a lot of lives could still be saved, she added.

The minister further said that maternal and child health and patient safety were the top priority of the government as these were the main themes of the Punjab Health Sector Strategy 2019 – 2028. The government is building seven new maternal and child health hospitals in Lahore, Mianwali, Attock, Rajanpur, Layyah, Multan and Bahawalnagar. Lahore’s 650-bedded quaternary facility at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital will be functional by June 2022. This will also provide cater to cancer patients. The WHO also lays special emphasis on Patient Safety. In order to meet our SDG targets, we are taking many measures. We have already achieved 90 % routine immunisation coverage target this year, she said. “Our 1400 BHUs are now operating on 24/7 model to ensure safe deliveries. Moreover, following the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Punjab government will provide health insurance cards to all the population of Punjab by the end of this year.” Later, responding to queries of journalists, the health minister said that Ganga Ram Hospital had been already providing treatment services for breast cancer. She said Oncology departments were made fully functional in all hospitals of Punjab. To a query, she responded that Actemra injection shortage was a global issue. Focal Person Patient Safety & Quality Dr Hussain Jaffery said that at least five patients die a minute because of unsafe health care globally.

Meanwhile, Dr Yasmin Rashid on Friday presided over a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on dengue control here at Civil Secretariat, to review anti-dengue measures in the province. Provincial Minister for Auqaf Syed Saeed-ul-Hassan Shah, Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal, the secretary primary health, commissioner, deputy commissioner Lahore and officers concerned attended the meeting, while divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video-link. The meeting decided to intensify anti-dengue activities in all the districts, especially in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad. It also directed the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) to ensure the availability of dengue counters in all the private hospitals.

Dr Yasmin Rashid said that keeping in view the current situation, special attention should be paid to indoor surveillance and in case of fever, dengue test of patient must be conducted. She directed the officers to improve the system of reporting dengue cases from private laboratories.

She mentioned that continuous and concerted efforts were needed to eradicate dengue. The Punjab CS directed all the departments to ensure implementation of the guidelines issued regarding dengue and improve the quality of monitoring, surveillance and reporting. The CS said that it was the responsibility of the deputy commissioners to monitor the anti-dengue campaign in districts, adding that no negligence would be tolerated in this regard.

The chief secretary also issued instructions to the deputy commissioners of Sheikhupura and Mianwali regarding timely resolution of dengue virus reporting (DVR) complaints. The secretary primary health briefed the meeting that, so far 450 confirmed dengue patients were reported this year and most of them were reported from Lahore.