Revamping standards: Health Dept forms vigilance bodies

Surprise inspections planned to ensure maintenance of high standards

LAHORE: The Health Department on Saturday constituted vigilance teams tasked with conducting raids across health facilities to inspect standards.

An official from the department revealed that the decision had been taken to inspect standards across OPDs and ensure round-the-clock availability of medicines across hospitals. “The teams will conduct raids across all public and private sector hospitals to take stock of the state of affairs prevalent there,” he said. The official said the teams would inspect attendance records of doctors and other staff. He said they would also ensure that medicines remained available and standards were maintained across emergency wards and operation theatres.

The official said that practice would not be confined to the city only and would be replicated elsewhere across the Punjab. He said this would ensure that standards improved across DHQ and THQ hospitals. The official said such action would alleviate pressure on hospitals across the city. He said the state of the health sector had not shown any great improvement despite the concerted efforts of the department. The official said conducting raids would remedy this.

Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Najam Shah on Saturday paid a surprise visit to Ganga Ram and expressed his displeasure over doctors not being present at its emergency ward. He directed pertinent authorities to take action against those absent and also checked on patients admitted at the hospital. The secretary discovered that a faulty plant had left the hospital’s emergency ward and other areas without air conditioning. Shah directed the MS to immediately remedy the problem and ensure round-the-clock availability of medicines.

Health Department Spokesperson Ikhlaq Ali Khan said the secretary had paid a surprise visit to the hospital for the receipt of several complaints regarding poor standards at the hospital. He said the department would now increase the frequency of such actions across hospitals province-wide. Khan said raids would continue across hospitals till standards were revamped.

Farhan Gohar of the Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) said senior Health Department functionaries had been conducting raids in vain since long. He said they would prove to be inconsequential. “The situation will not take a turn for the better till the government prioritises the health sector,” Gohar said.

He said the government should increase the infinitesimal budget of the sector and resolve doctors’ problems like taxing working conditions.

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