‘Govt not to privatise any public hospital’

Minister says measures underway to revolutionise health sector

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid on Sunday said that through the Medical Teaching Institutions Act, the government was not going to privatise any public sector hospital but to facilitate patients.

She said revolutionary measures were being taken by the government for facilitating people in the health sector. She strongly condemned rumours and speculations regarding the privatisation of public sector hospitals. She said that the government was spending Rs4.5 million annually on one batch in any government hospital.

In a press statement, she said the basic purpose of introducing the MTI Act was to ensure the provision of the best healthcare facilities to the common people. Neither the administrative nor financial powers had been given to any government hospital in the act introduced in 2003.

She said by bringing better administration through the MTI Act, quality healthcare facilities would be ensured to patients in the public sector hospitals. Dr Yasmin said medical and hospitals directors would be appointed to the government hospitals, who would be fully responsible for all affairs of hospitals.

She said during the last one year, the PTI government recruited more than 15,000 doctors on merit. Sehat Insaaf Cards were distributed among the common people in 28 districts of Punjab under which families would be able to access medical facilities up to Rs720,000 free of charge, the minister said.

Annually three audits would be conducted of all teaching institutions under the MTI Act and the board of governors would be changed any time over negligence, said Dr Yasmin, adding that performance report of medical teaching institutions would be presented in the assembly and promotions of doctors of professors would be linked with performance.

She said the government had full right to ask doctors about their performance. She said that the government wanted to run outdoor even in the evening under the act.

She said treatment expenditures of the deserving patients would be borne by the government. She said provision of the best healthcare facilities at hospitals of Punjab was the basic point of manifesto of PTI’s government.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2019.