Punjab government has decided to immediately start a mobile health service in the flood-affected areas for providing health facilities where Basic Health Units (BHU) and Rural Health Centres (RHC) have been demolished and become non-functional.
This service will be carried out till rehabilitation of BHUs and RHCs, Secretary Health Punjab Fawad Hassan Fawad said here Saturday while reviewing medical relief activities being carried out in the flood-hit districts. The secretary directed that ambulance service be launched from those DHQ, THQ hospitals and RHC which are saved from floodwater to the marooned areas for providing medical cover to the people.
He added that these ambulances should be equipped with doctors, paramedical staff, medical instruments as well as necessary medicines. The meeting reviewed the ongoing medical work in the affected areas. Secretary health was informed that 79 trucks of medicines have so far been sent to the affected districts where doctors have treated more than 1.44 million patients so far.
Moreover, 171,000 people have been vaccinated against infectious and communicable diseases. Medical teams have distributed more than 420,000 Acquapura tablets for purification of water. In order to protect people from gastro-enteritis and Acute Watery Diarrhoea, 19,11,278 ORS packets have also been distributed among the flood-affected families. It was told that water filtration plants, provided by Pakistani American doctors, have also been installed and approximately 150,000 people are being benefited from these purification plants. The meeting was further informed that residual spray and fogging campaign has also continued in the flood-affected districts to control malaria and other diseases.
For this purpose, 200 spray pumps along-with skilled human resource have been sent from Multan, Gujrat, Hafizabad and Jehlum to the flood affected districts. Moreover, blood screening and vaccination of women and children are under-way. While addressing the meeting, Fawad Hassan Fawad directed that special measures be adopted for provision of medical facilities to the people of affected where health centres have been demolished due to heavy floods.
Special Secretary Health, Abdullah Khan Sumbal, Special Secretary Development, Wasim Mukhtar, Additional Secretary Health, Dr Mushtaq Ahmed Sulehrya and Director Health Management Information System, Dr Muhammad Anwar Janjua attended the meeting.