CM says Punjab has gotten a ‘healthy’ boost

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said measures have been taken to successfully increase the core capacity of the health department with the help of information technology.

Presiding over a three-hour long health review meeting late on Thursday, he and the other participants conducted a detailed review of health sector reforms and improvement of facilities. While addressing the meeting, Shehbaz stated effective measures should be adopted to improve the capacity building of all the departments.

He maintained that success could only be achieved if officials were committed to hard work and determined to achieve their targets or goals.“The core capacity of every department will have to be increased to improve the service delivery mechanism and transform the organisational culture,” he stressed.



He ordered an increase of pace in implementing reforms in the Punjab Quality Control Board and Directorate General Health Services. He added the health department would have to be brought up to speed with the latest trends and requirements to make it a leading organisation.

Shehbaz urged the employment and engagement of the best human resources to accelerate progress in the AIDS and hepatitis control programmes in the most effective manner. The Chief Minister stated that an effective strategy had been adopted to eradicate the heinous crime of selling substandard or spurious medicines. “A state-of-the-art purchase, distribution and supply chain for medicines is now in place.”

He added samples of medicines had been sent to world-famous laboratories for analysis. The CM vowed that the province would be 100% free of spurious or substandard drugs. He added mobile health units were providing quality healthcare facilities to people at their doorsteps, even in remote areas.



“Therefore, a plan has been devised to acquire 100 more mobile health units,” Shehbaz asserted. He stated CT scan machines were being installed at all the district headquarter hospitals of Punjab, while quality healthcare facilities were provided to poor people through the Prime Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme.

Meanwhile, he said financially-disadvantaged patients were provided free treatment facilities at government and private hospitals through the health card scheme, which is successfully running in four selected districts. He said the scope of the PM’s scheme was going to extend to all the districts of Punjab. The meeting reviewed the third-party validation report of the programme.

Shehbaz stated that improving healthcare facilities was a top priority for his government. ”The fruits of resources provided for the latest facilities and general improvement of healthcare must reach the common man.” He commended the reforms to improve the capacity of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department. “Wonderful steps have been taken by utilising information technology.”

Provincial Ministers Khwaja Salman Rafique, Khwaja Imran Nazir, Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha and advises were present. Also in attendance were the Chief, health and finance secretaries, apart from experts and officials concerned.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2017.