Speaker Sindh Assembly, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah has underscored need to enhance credibility of public hospitals and educational institutions among the masses.
Addressing the inaugural session of the annual symposium of Dow Medical College (DMC) here on Friday he said the public reluctance to avail services offered at the government run health care centres may largely be due to misconceptions yet need for concerted efforts on part of all those associated with the institutions to improve the image of the same cannot be overlooked.
"Building up credibility of public institutions is not too difficult," the chief guest said referring to presence of selfless professionals as Dr Adib ul Hasan Rizvi and many others serving at Civil Hospital, JPMC, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and other government owned outlets.
On the occasion he in his capacity as the speaker of the provincial assembly also offered all support on part of legislators to the medical community to upgrade their departments.
With regard to the theme of the symposium "Ethical Research for Development", he said ethics as well as research hold equal significance in the profession of medicine and health sciences.
He said the nations, which concentrated on research and made adequate allocation for the same have emerged among the developed societies in the comity of nations.
This, he said, needs to be ensured in Pakistan and it must be made mandatory for all colleges and universities to venture into research.
Maintaining that medicine and research go hand in hand, he said that it has to be a continuous process and syndicate of Dow University of Health Sciences as well as of other universities must ask government for funding.
Offering his unconditional support in this regard, he said the Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, a graduate of DMC and the moving spirit behind the up-gradation of DMC into a university as well as Sindh Chief Minister, who is committed to improve the health status of masses can always be found to ardent supporter for the cause.
Meanwhile, with regard to the responsibility of doctors as well as other gifted members of the civil society towards the society, Syed Muzzafar Hussain Shah said the country was established with the motive for creation of a free society where people could have freedom to have a peaceful and blessed existence.
Mumlikat-e-Khudadad, established after tireless efforts of the Muslims of undivided India was expected to guarantee security of chadar and chardiwari, free education, quality health care, shelter and a dignified life, he elaborated maintaining that this could be done through collective efforts.
Lack of sense of direction and inadequate understanding regarding right choice of priorities, he said, has left certain parts including his constituency Umer Kot, a place some 625 km away from Karachi but 100 miles behind it in terms of facilities.
Sindh Secretary Health Ashiq Hussain Memon speaking on the occasion reminded that it was during the present government that DMC, one of the oldest institutions in the country was upgraded as university and pay scale of medical teachers was raised.
According to him measures were reflective of significance of health care sector and that several other steps were being adopted to improve the facilities at hospitals and health care centres being run in public sector.
He also dispelled the impression that services offered at government hospitals was in any way poor to that offered in private sector mentioning that many of the medical professionals associated with these institutions hold international recognition.