LAHORE: The Punjab government has prepared a plan for the improvement of public health facilities, proposing to spend Rs 15 billion on the infrastructure and provision of medical equipment in 28 major hospitals across the province.

This was disclosed during a meeting held at the Civil Secretariat on Monday. The officials of the health department briefed Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman regarding implementation of the plan. The meeting reviewed measures to improve healthcare in public hospitals and decided to hand over the parking of Lahore’s all government-run hospitals to the Lahore Parking Company (LPC).

The Chief Secretary said that providing the best health and education facilities to the people is the priority of the government. He said under the health insurance program, best healthcare should be provided to eligible patients, adding that quality of facilities should inspire patients to opt for medical treatment in the public health facilities. He asked the deputy commissioners to pay special attention to improving the health and education sectors in districts.

The Chief Secretary appreciated Deputy Commissioner Khanewal Waseem Hamid Sindhu for getting ISO certification for DHQ hospital. He ordered that the deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners as heads of district and tehsil health councils should perform their duties in an active manner and ensure 100 percent attendance of doctors and staff in hospitals.

Secretary Health Ali Jan said that the revamping of DHQ and THQ hospitals would be completed by December. He mentioned that a digital record of patients is being maintained in all basic health units (BHUs). The administrative secretaries of various departments including finance and planning and development attended the meeting while all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video link.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023