Service delivery: Health secy calls for greater professionalism

Executive district officers told to train and equip paramedical staff.

LAHORE:

Health Secretary, Muhamamd Jahanzeb Khan on Saturday directed all EDOs (Health) and medical superintendents (MS) to ensure the implementation of standard operating procedures for emergencies (SOPEs) in all hospitals and provision of necessary training and equipment to the paramedical staff. He said that greater professional efficiency was required to raise the health standards.

He gave the directions in a meeting with the health officers of Bahawalpur district. Addl Secretary (Technical) Mushtaq Ahmed Sulehriya, Addl Secretary (Development) Moazzam Usman, Director General Health Dr. Aslam Chaudhry, Deputy Secretary Saleha Saeed and the EDO Bahawalpur attended the meeting.

The secretary urged the officers to improve the emergency services at government hospitals. He said that providing an atmosphere in which patients and their attendants felt secure was also their responsibility. He directed that broken switchboards, loose wires and other potentially dangerous electrical appliances in the hospitals should be fixed on a priority basis to avoid any unpleasant incident.

He directed all EDOs to submit a certificate, confirming the availability of essential drugs and functioning medical equipment in all hospitals under their charge. He also directed them to ensure foolproof measures for hospitals and health centres. He also said that immunisation and service delivery system should also be improved.





Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2011.