Job security : 52,000 health workers’ services regularised

LAHORE:

“Job security is a great motivation for medical workers,” Lady Health Workers Association president Rukhsana Anwar said on Sunday.

She was addressing a ceremony held to regularise services of 52,000 health workers.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was the chief guest on the occassion. He gave regularisation letters to health workers, supervisors and drivers.

Addressing the ceremony, Anwar said regularlisation had been a longstanding demand of health workers.

“Now health workers will be able to perform duties with greater confidence,” she said.

She said 52,000 families would benefit from the provincial government’s decision.

Speaking on the occasion, Health Supervisor Nasreen Mansoor said health workers were the operational arm of all dengue fever and polio vaccination campaigns.

“Lady health workers have worked round the clock to raise awareness on infant and maternal health,” she said.

She said there was a need for more training programmes and refresher courses for health workers.  “The government has thousands of lady health workers. It is unfortunate that their services aren’t fully availed and appreciated,” she said. Addressing the function, Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Salman Rafique said regularisation of 52,000 workers’s services was an important milestone due to which dreams of thousands of families had materialised.

Addressing the occasion, the chief minister said lady health workers should focus on flood-hit areas and help prevent epidemics. He said as long as lady health workers discharged their duties with devotion, dedication and honesty, their demands would be met.

He said floods had caused massive destruction in the Punjab and thousands of people had been displaced. He said addressing health concerns of people affected by floods should be the top priority of health workers.

Parliamentary Secretary on Health Khawaja Imran Nazir, and the health services director general were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2014.