Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday chaired a high-level meeting, to review progress on the health reforms program and efforts to improve healthcare system. Addressing the meeting, Shehbaz said providing quality medical facility is the joint responsibility of all of us and we should work with responsibility to provide best health facilities to the people. "All decisions taken to improve the healthcare system should be implemented," he said.
He said the Punjab government is working on a mega project to provide best medical facilities to the people. He said all ambulances of the health department have been handed over to the Rescue 1122 and to take needy patients to hospitals a comprehensive plan has been made. He said ambulance service desks are being established at emergency blocks at all hospitals, and public and private ambulances will be regulated through these desks.
He said a motorbike ambulance service is being launched and training of staff for this purpose is under process. He said a new foolproof system is being introduced for the purchase, transportation and distribution of medicines and the problems of spurious medicines and embezzlement will be addressed through this system. He said the Punjab government is purchasing medicines worth Rs 6 billion and samples of medicines will be checked from foreign labs. He said the mafia playing with the lives of the people should be eliminated at any cost and the process of procurement of samples should also be foolproof.
Shehbaz Sharif said a hospital is being established in Murree and work on this project is in progress at the fast track. He said steps are being taken to upgrade labs in hospitals and there is need to make programs of the Public Health Institute effective. Provincial ministers Khawaja Salman Rafique, Khawaja Imran Nazeer, Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, adviser Dr Umer Saif, Additional Chief Secretary, secretaries of concerned departments and relevant officials also attended the meeting.