P&SH secy reviews Drug Testing Lab performance

LAHORE:Primary & Secondary Healthcare Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch chaired a meeting here at the office of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department to review the performance and working capacity of the Drug Testing Laboratory.

Special Secretary Saliha Saeed and officials of Drug Testing Laboratory were also present in the meeting. During the meeting, Secretary Health was briefed about the current status and functionalities of DTLs, Currently, five ISO certified drug testing laboratories are fully operating in Punjab.

Talking about the performance of these laboratories he said, "Fully equipped with all advanced technologies, drug testing laboratories are established in districts of Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur. While all labs are ISO certified, DTL Faisalabad and Rawalpindi are also approved by WHO. During this year, collectively 29,851 samples were submitted in DTLs and drug inspectors are directed to provide the results of received samples within 60 days. From January 2021 till now, 55,416 inspections were carried out all across Punjab and 14,137 licences have been issued in Punjab." Secretary P&SHD appreciated the efforts of DTL officials to stop fake licensing and the establishment of the online portal. He also advised competent authorities to fill the vacant seats of all laboratories and fulfill all requirements needed to establish an exclusive microbiology lab in Lahore.

PHC: Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) Chief Executive Officer Dr Saqib Aziz has said that PHC is ensuring implementation of the Minimum Service Delivery Standards (MSDS) in all healthcare establishments of the province to provide better treatment facilities to the patients; he said this in a briefing at the Cancer Care Hospital and Research Centre here on Wednesday.

Dr Saqib and his team visited various departments of the healthcare establishment where the officials gave a detailed briefing about treatment and diagnostic arrangements and facilities being provided to the cancer patients.

Director Licencing and Accreditation PHC Dr Anwar Janjua, Medical Superintendent and others concerned were also present on the occasion. Dr Saqib also mentioned that the PHC had trained managers and healthcare professionals on their respective MSDS, and all healthcare establishments were implementing standards.

Chairperson Cancer Care Hospital Prof Dr Shaharyar during his briefing said the hospital was being equipped with the latest treatment facilities and beds keeping the growing number of patients in mind.