Public health:‘Bill for safe blood transfusion on the cards’
Safe Blood Transfusion Act aims to control spread of hepatitis
Rafiq said the government had raised the health budget to Rs200 billion. PHOTO: PKLI FCEBOOK PAGE
LAHORE:
“A draft bill for safe blood transfusions has been sent to a standing committee of the Provincial Assembly. The scrutiny of the Safe Blood Transfusion Act 2016 will be completed next month. The bill would then be sent to the House for vote,” Advisor to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafiq said on Thursday.
He said the Safe Blood Transfusion Act aimed to control spread of viral Hepatitis by disallowing substandard blood banks from operating.
He was addressing a seminar and the launch of a hepatitis prevention programme by Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI).
Rafiq said the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant and Research Institute was the first institution of its kind where prevention and treatment programmes would be designed and research undertaken. He said transplant facilities would also be provided.
He said the construction of the project on 50 acres at Bedian Road had begun.
He said Rs15 billion would be spent on the project. “This year, the government has allocated Rs4 billion for the project,” he said.
Rafiq said the government had raised the health budget to Rs200 billion.
“All of this money will be wasted if we do not focus on prevention of diseases,” he said.
PKLI Chairman Saeed Akhtar thanked Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for providing 50 acres and funds for the construction of the centre.
He disclosed that the PKLI would start a hepatitis clinic by December.
“This will help us prepare a database of hepatitis patients,” he said.
‘Cleanliness at hospitals should be ensured’
Chief Secretary Zahid Saeed said on Thursday that missing facilities should be provided and cleanliness at all public hospitals should be ensured.
He directed district coordination officers (DCOs) to visit hospitals to review service delivery. He was presiding over a meeting of DCOs at the Civil Secretariat.
The chief secretary said access to modern health facilities for residents of rural areas was a priority of the government.
“We must standardise quality service at all public hospitals in the province,” he said.
He said medical superintendents would be financially and administratively empowered under a plan evolved for reforms in the healthcare sector.
He said doctors serving in remote areas were being paid handsomely.
The chief secretary said the polio vaccination campaign and the dengue eradication efforts should be expedited in districts prone to these diseases.
He also issued instructions for steps for dealing with possible floods. He said the DCOs must visit embankments and recheck the arrangements.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 29th, 2016.
“A draft bill for safe blood transfusions has been sent to a standing committee of the Provincial Assembly. The scrutiny of the Safe Blood Transfusion Act 2016 will be completed next month. The bill would then be sent to the House for vote,” Advisor to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafiq said on Thursday.
He said the Safe Blood Transfusion Act aimed to control spread of viral Hepatitis by disallowing substandard blood banks from operating.
He was addressing a seminar and the launch of a hepatitis prevention programme by Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI).
Rafiq said the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant and Research Institute was the first institution of its kind where prevention and treatment programmes would be designed and research undertaken. He said transplant facilities would also be provided.
He said the construction of the project on 50 acres at Bedian Road had begun.
He said Rs15 billion would be spent on the project. “This year, the government has allocated Rs4 billion for the project,” he said.
Rafiq said the government had raised the health budget to Rs200 billion.
“All of this money will be wasted if we do not focus on prevention of diseases,” he said.
PKLI Chairman Saeed Akhtar thanked Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for providing 50 acres and funds for the construction of the centre.
He disclosed that the PKLI would start a hepatitis clinic by December.
“This will help us prepare a database of hepatitis patients,” he said.
‘Cleanliness at hospitals should be ensured’
Chief Secretary Zahid Saeed said on Thursday that missing facilities should be provided and cleanliness at all public hospitals should be ensured.
He directed district coordination officers (DCOs) to visit hospitals to review service delivery. He was presiding over a meeting of DCOs at the Civil Secretariat.
The chief secretary said access to modern health facilities for residents of rural areas was a priority of the government.
“We must standardise quality service at all public hospitals in the province,” he said.
He said medical superintendents would be financially and administratively empowered under a plan evolved for reforms in the healthcare sector.
He said doctors serving in remote areas were being paid handsomely.
The chief secretary said the polio vaccination campaign and the dengue eradication efforts should be expedited in districts prone to these diseases.
He also issued instructions for steps for dealing with possible floods. He said the DCOs must visit embankments and recheck the arrangements.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 29th, 2016.