LAHORE: On the instructions of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique chaired an important meeting with all the commissioners and deputy commissioners who presented their valuable suggestions and opinions to improve the conditions of government hospitals.
The officers of the health department also gave a briefing on the budget and other matters during the meeting.
Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique, while expressing his views, said that all stakeholders will have to play their role for the improvement of the health system. Commissioners and DCs will give feedback on government hospitals.
Under the leadership of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, historic steps are being taken in the health sector. Asia’s largest Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research is being built in Lahore. State-of-the-art Nawaz Sharif Institutes of Cardiology are being built in Lahore and Sargodha, he added.
He said the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program, Chief Minister’s Dialysis Program and Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Program are flagship programs in the health sector. Out of 58 tertiary care hospitals, 16 are running a queue management system with the help of PITB. In the next phase, there is a plan to bring a queue management system to all other tertiary care hospitals. Instructions have been given to display duty rosters in hospitals. There is no compromise on cleanliness in government hospitals. The Punjab government is also providing additional funds in addition to the budget for the supply of medicines in government hospitals, he said.
Licensing and cleanliness of blood banks of hospitals are also being ensured. The Department of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education is working on infection control in government hospitals. E-tendering of parking and cafeteria contracts in hospitals is being done, he added.
Khawaja Salman Rafique further said that the supply of medicines to patients at their homes is being ensured through Pakistan Post through seven cardiac and five cancer hospitals. Feedback will be taken from the commissioners and DCs to improve the conditions of government hospitals. The Punjab Healthcare Commission has been directed to continuously inspect government hospitals, he said.
The Secretary of the Department of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education, while expressing his views, said that the feedback from the Commissioners and DCs regarding government hospitals will be very important. Efforts are being made to ensure that no patient faces any difficulty in treatment and care in tertiary care hospitals.
The meeting was attended by Special Secretaries Tariq Mahmood Rahmani and Zeeshan Shabbir Rana, Additional Secretary Technical Dr. Muhammad Waseem, Additional Secretary Procurement Anwar Bariar, Additional Secretary Ashfaq-ur-Rehman, Deputy Secretary Budget Hammad Al-Rab, Deputy Director Abdul Mateen and officers of the Punjab Healthcare Commission.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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