Objective: Improving healthcare govt’s priority, says Shahbaz

LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday ordered a crackdown against substandard and spurious drugs. He was addressing a conference through video link from London. “Manufacturers of fake drugs are enemies of humanity. Provision of medical facilities and improving the health sector is one of the government’s priorities. The government has adopted an effective strategy to provide free medicines and ensure availability of doctors in far-flung areas. The government is ready to provide more resources for healthcare,” he said.

“It is the government’s mission to provide treatment facilities to patients in all areas. All the departments concerned will have to play their role to accomplish this mission. There is a need to bring improvements in the manufacture of medicines and their supply to hospitals. Hospitals need to have safe medicine storage practices. Many steps may have to be taken to improve healthcare services,” he said.

The CM said that the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant Institute and Research Centre was being established in Lahore. “It will be an excellent addition to the healthcare services. Kidney and liver patients will have all treatment facilities under one roof when the project is completed. The project will be a milestone in health sector,” he said. The chief minister has constituted a Cabinet Committee to monitor Ramazan Bazaars in the Punjab.

The committee will review the arrangements at Ramazan Bazaars and present its report to the CM on a daily basis. The committee members will visit Ramazan Bazaars and monitor DCOs, DPOs and other administrative officers.

The food and industries ministers will be the conveners of the committee. The chief secretary will be a co-convener. The additional chief secretary, the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team chairman and designated officials will be the other members of the committee.

The chief minister has directed traffic police officers to make arrangements for ensuring a smooth flow of traffic before iftar. “Traffic officers should ensure that the traffic doesn’t get stuck in large cities of the Punjab before iftar,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2016.