Public health: Funds released to purchase drugs for public hospitals

Medicines will be purchased for six public hospitals

LAHORE:

The provincial government has recently released an additional Rs520 million for the purchase of medicines for financially-distressed patients at various public hospitals in the Punjab.

This was announced by Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Najam Ahmed Shah at a meeting with Additional Secretary (Admin) Muhammad Asad Naeem, Additional Secretary (Development) Zaheer Abbas Malik, Chief Planning Officer Abdul Haq Bhatti and Budget and Accounts Deputy Secretary Sarfraz Ahmed on Thursday.

The breakup of the funds is as follows: Rs150 million has been released for medicines at the Childrens Hospital, Rs13 million to purchase medicines for the Said Mittha Hospital, Rs150 million for the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, Rs15 million for the Khawaja Safdar Medical College Sialkot, Rs55 million for the Dera Ghazi Khan Medical College and Rs137 million to purchase medicines for Jinnah Hospital in Lahore.

The participants were told that additional funds to would be provided from the supplementary grant to purchase medicines for other hospitals.

Shah said the government had provided massive funds for the betterment of the people of the Punjab and to provide them the best possible treatment facilities at public sector hospitals.

He said that under the budget for the fiscal year 2015-2016, the provincial government had allocated Rs10.80 billion to ensure provision of free medicines at public hospitals in the province. “This we have already done,” he said.

Shah said that the main objective of the government was to provide quality healthcare services to the people by developing the health sector and improving the functioning of hospitals.

He said that the chief minister attached great importance to the development of health sector due to which huge funds were being provided besides introducing latest technology in the new initiatives for uplifting of health sector in Punjab.

“A lot of the new initiatives we have introduced have greatly improved the sector,” Shah said.

He said filter clinics were now being attached to Jinnah Hospital Lahore.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2016.