Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has urged the provinces to focus on building their capacity for effective delivery of health services at the grassroots level. He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the newly expanded and renovated Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) here on Friday.
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah were also present on the occasion. The A&E department became the target of a terrorist attack, when it was rocked by a bomb blast on February 05, 2010, which occurred just outside the building, killing 18 people as well as damaging the building.
The department was renovated and expended with the special grant of Prime Minister worth Rs 40 million. The prime minister announced a grant of Rs 55 million for this project. Gilani said that health and education were now purely provincial subjects and now the provinces should rise to the occasion and make the difference through innovative methods of implementation of policies.
He said that the abolition of the Concurrent List of the Constitution after the unanimous passage of the 18th Amendment and historic adoption of the 7th National Finance Commission Award had empowered the provinces politically, administratively and financially and the provincial governments were now responsible for the operational details.
The prime minister said that the completion of this project requires further monetary assistance and announced a grant of Rs 55 million for taking this major project to a logical end. Health sector has traditionally been a neglected area and did not receive the policy makers' attention it duly deserved, he added. The vast disconnect existing between policy decision-making and operational levels impacted adversely upon the delivery of health-related services.
"The systematic flaws of our mixed health architecture resulted in wastage of resources, duplication of work and inability of health institutions responsible for spearheading the reform agenda," he added. He said that the broader structural dimensions such as decentralisation, efficiency, economical use of resources and mechanisms of social protection were also ignored.
He pointed out that Health Policy Task Force was established in 2008 on his order to design institutional response to the problems of the health sector. It is on the basis of the recommendations presented by the Health Policy Task Force that the government has formulated the National Health Policy 2010 in consultation with all key stakeholders. The National Health Policy incorporates key priorities such as family planning, maternal and child health, workforce development and meeting the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. He said that effective and sustained implementation of the National Health Policy 2010 would go a long way in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
Gilani said the country was no doubt passing through a difficult time. "But let me assure you that if we forge unity in our ranks and discharge our responsibilities as a national duty, we would overcome this temporary phase of pain and anguish," he said. "Karachi, the financial hub of Pakistan, has witnessed the recurring incidents of terrorism and terrible bomb blasts. JPMC and its staff have commendably responded to the challenge of tending after the injured and thus added a glowing chapter of dedicated service. The people of Karachi are rightfully proud of you," he added.
He said JPMC had played a seminal role in training several generations of doctors, nurses, medical teachers and consultants, who were now serving both within and outside the country.
Federal Secretary of Health Nargis Sethi, Executive Director JPMC Professor Tasnim Ahsan and Joint Director Dr Seemen Jamali also spoke on the occasion. They said that JPMC was one of the largest public sector tertiary care hospitals in Karachi. Over the past 60 years, it has provided free healthcare services to the poorest of the poor.
On a daily basis, it heaves with the traffic of some 4,000 patients visiting its out-patient departments, and close to 1000 patients visiting its accident and emergency (A&E) department They thanked the Prime Minister for his support, who gave a grant of Rs 40 million for the project. They also thanked other individual and corporate donors, who offered their services on a pro bono basis.
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