Progress on the health reforms roadmap was discussed in a three-hour-long meeting presided by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday. Addressing the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif said reforms introduced by the Punjab government in the health sector are producing positive results and this roadmap has helped improve health facilities provided to the people. He said revolutionary measures have been taken to provide the best health facilities to the people. He said steps taken to improve coverage of the immunisation campaign have produced encouraging results and these steps will continue with consistency. He directed the authorities to further the vaccination program in a co-ordinated manner.
Shehbaz said that the government has a plan to launch the rural ambulance service and 14 more mobile health units are being purchased to provide the best health facilities to the people at their doorsteps. He said six mobile health units are already providing health facilities in the remote areas round-the-clock. He said the government has launched a comprehensive project to control hepatitis and a hepatitis control clinic will be inaugurated in Lahore next month. This clinic will be linked to nine divisions through satellite.
He said a hepatitis control bill will be presented in the assembly for its passage soon. He said the Punjab government has made a foolproof system for the purchase, transportation and sale of medicines through this system. Misappropriation in the medicine will be eliminated. He said the government will get tested the samples of medicines from renowned laboratories abroad and first warehouse of medicines will be established in Lahore.
He said steps are being taken to end shortage of medical officers and consultants and CT scan machines will be operational in all DHQs across Punjab by June this year. He said the companies which are providing these machines will be responsible for operating and looking after these CT scan machines. He said through this initiative the people will get CT scan facility round-the-clock. He said the services of the allied health professionals will be hired and 19 non-clinical services in hospital including cleanliness are being outsourced.
He said the prime minister health insurance scheme is a mega project for the provision of the best health facilities to the public and the Punjab government has planned to enhance the scope of this scheme from four districts to the whole province, and thousands of patients in 36 districts will benefit from this scheme. He said ambulances of the health department have been handed over to Rescue 1122 and far-reaching benefits will be achieved from this initiative.
Speaking on the occasion, the special representative of the UK institution DFID Sir Michal Barbar said the Punjab government is introducing revolutionary steps in the health sector that are producing positive results. Provincial ministers Rana Sanaullah, Begum Zakiya Shahnawaz, Khawaja Imran Nazeer, Adviser Dr Umer Saif, Chief Secretary, secretaries of the concerning departments, and representatives of the team of the health reforms roadmap also attended the meeting.