Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday directed the Ministry of Health to develop an effective Disease Surveillance System to ensure patient safety and minimise possibility of medical errors. The patient safety, he emphasised, should remain the focus of government's health management system, in the country.
The Prime Minister gave these directions during a briefing by the Ministry of Health on the National Disease Surveillance Programme as well as progress on Prime Minister's Initiative on Prevention and Control of Hepatitis at the PM's House, here Tuesday morning.
The PM said provision of training facilities, establishment of centres of excellence in major cities would not only be helpful in preventing the past mistakes, but would also go a long way in eradication of diseases like Hepatitis from the country. He added that foreign donor agencies should be encouraged for their input to bring healthcare in Pakistan to international standard.
He reiterated that PPP government is committed to provide quality healthcare, particularly to the poor and the vulnerable segments of the society, for which the required funds have been provided. He stressed upon the ministry to improve the delivery of health services more efficiently, and work out a plan ensuring "access to a doctor" to all citizens.
He emphasised upon creating awareness among the masses about the details of Prime Minister's Hepatitis Prevention and Control Initiative, which has been extended to district level in all the provinces as well as AJ&K and Gilgit Baltistan. He further directed for an effective monitoring system to evaluate the results and future needs in this context.
The Prime Minister expressed his anguish over recent loss of precious lives in some medical institutions due to the negligence or erroneous treatment by doctors and paramedical staff, causing public embarrassment for the whole medical community. He stressed the need to ensure patient safety in all the medical institutions. The Prime Minister stressed the need for adopting innovative but reliable methods to provide medical care to every nook and corner of the country.
Earlier, the meeting was informed that the pilot projects on Disease Surveillance Programme in all the provinces have been a success and could be expanded further. It was mentioned that the proposed system consists of two integrated modules that perform data collection, analysis and response generation functions.
The disease surveillance component provides a uniform platform to collect, monitor and analyse data on key health indicators. Such a system forms a foundation that is easy to use and initiative for the front user but is based on time tested international healthcare standards.
Deploying such a system will put Pakistan at par with more developed areas of the world, would lead it to further opportunities in research and funding. A number of developing countries started an integrated Disease Surveillance Programme at the beginning of 21st century, which is now well entrenched and functional at appropriate level in these countries, the briefing said.
Briefing the meeting on the progress about the Prime Minister's Initiative on Prevention and Control of Hepatitis, the project in-charge mentioned that the burden on account of Hepatitis treatment has increased because of a number of reasons including environmental and hygienic conditions.
However, the programme is progressing satisfactorily and all the concerned stakeholders including the provincial governments are being associated with the implementation, it assured. The meeting was attended by Minister for Health Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Parliamentary Secretary on Health Dr Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana MNA and Secretaries of Health and Planning and Development.