Salman Rafique presiding over a meeting to review arrangements to control an outbreak of dengue fever. PHOTO: NNI
He was presiding over a meeting to review arrangements to control an outbreak of dengue fever. Rafique said the Met Office had forecast pre-monsoon rains from July 10. He directed all departments and district administrations to be on high alert for a possible outbreak and pay special attention to dengue mosquito surveillance.
Officials of the Punjab Information Technology Board presented a report on the surveillance and removal of dengue mosquito hotspots tagged on the PITB’s dashboard.
Rafique took note of the report and directed officials of the Local Government, Auqaf, and School Education Departments to speed up their efforts in this regard.
He also directed Dengue Control Additional Director General Islam Zafar to ask the Lahore Institute of Public Health to hold training and capacity-building courses for surveillance teams.
MPA Pir Ashraf Rasool from Sheikupura, DCO Kiran Khursheed, Dr Islam Zafar, Health EDO Dr Ishaq, tehsil officers of all relevant provincial departments, environment Inspectors and Chief Entomologist Wasim Akram attended the meeting.
Public hospital
Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan and Rafique later chaired a meeting to discuss the renovation of Government Rana Abdul Raheem Memorial Hospital in Sodiwal.
Rafique gave the Health EDO a month’s time to recruit staff for the hospital. Khan issued instructions for the provision of missing facilities at the hospital. He said, “No stone will be left unturned in ensuring the best possible health facilities to the masses.” Khan also said provision of health and education was a state’s primary responsibility and they were working hard to make sure there were no complaints in this regard.
Members of the meeting decided that they would open the hospital’s outdoor patient ward for public with immediate effect. They also gave various suggestions on how to improve medical facilities at the hospital and make sure that it opened for the public without inordinate delay.
Khan directed the Parks and Horticultural Authority director general to make sure that the garden in front of the hospital was planted with trees and shrubbery as soon as possible.
Health EDO Zulfiqar Ali, Works and Services EDO Muhammad Saeed Tahir, and Planning DO SI Shami were present at the occasion. Dr Hafiz Muhammad Wasim apprised the meeting of development activities at the hospital.
PGMI gets new head
Dr Israr Ahmed, a professor of ENT, has taken the additional charge as principal of the Post Graduate Medical Institute and Ameerud Din Medical College after Professor Anjum Habib Vohra retired this week.
The Punjab Health Department issued a notification in this regard on Friday.
Dr Ahmed expressed his resolve to continue providing patients best possible medical services.
He said in respect of the holy month of Ramazan, the hospital will continue the evening out-door shift to provide relief to patients, especially the government and private employees who could not visit hospitals during office hours.
He said that he believed in team work and would work together with all the staff to improve the standards of PGMI, AMC and LGH.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2015.
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