LAHORE, Jan 10 (TNS): Led brilliantly by Mian Shahbaz Sharif, the PML-N government has shown once again that given the will, sincerity, commitment and competence, the government can deliver even in very trying circumstances.
The health facilities across the Punjab have greatly improved over the years thanks to political leadership, absolute determination, continued focus and persistence is what CM Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif.
In health, the following major initiatives taken in 2015-2017 have completely transformed the sector:
Primery and Secondary Health Care:
- Establishment of Cold Chain Stores I’e 300 cubic meters to serve 13 districts in Lahore and 400 cubic meters to serve 23 districts in Multan
- Placement of a system to stop drug addiction with the establishment of five such labs
- Decrease in the ratio of child and mother deaths I’e IMR and MMR
- Provision of ambulance service in rural areas I’e 220 ambulances operating in 35 Districts and plan underway to take the figures to 277 in 2018.
- Basic heath units to provide better health care
- Increase in the coverage of vaccination for children I’e 82% in 2016 that was lingering at 49% in 2014
- Focuss centered on family planning to enhance mother’s health and diminish the ratio of their deaths during childbirth.
- Introduction and implementation of Punjab Hepatitis Ordinance 2017.
- Provision of medicines to 17000 Hepatitis patients at their door steps since Aug 2017.
- Inception of Punjab Public Health Agency.
- Installation of 5 CT Scan machines for preliminary and secondary service, 11 more planned to be installed soon.
- Work in progress to restore 40 DHQ/THQ hospitals and 15 emergency wards.
- Launch of Health insurance scheme in 4 districts of the province.
- Installation of 6 mobile health units and the number planned to be increased up to 20.
- Launch of motor cycle ambulance service to be provided in all the districts of the province.
- Breast cancer screening and free health service for family planning
- Compulsory screening at airports under Punjab Aids Control Program
Specialised health care and medical education:
- Addition of 614 beds in indore and outdoor departments of children hospital Lahore.
- Children hospital Lahore honored to have a distinction of becoming first hospital in public sector in Pakistan to provide bone marrow facility.
- Completion of 300 bed services hospital and OPD, in-patient block in Lahore.
- Completion of 178 bed kidney and Dialysis Center in victoria Hospital Bahawalpur.
- Pakistan Kidney and Lever institute and Research Center, with which filter clinics have been associated for the prevention of hepatitis, kidneys and lever diseases.
- The hospital would become the largest hospital of South Asia regarding to cure lever and kidney ailments.
- 220 bed children hospital in Faisalabad as OPD made functional.
- Addition of 100 beds to Pakistan Institute of Neuro Sciences (PINS) elevating it to a 500 bed hospital.
- Association of 120 bed cardiology unit with Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur to be completed soon.
- Up gradation of Lahore General Hospital underway.
- Wstablishment of state of the art 78 bed Jinnah Burn and Constructive Sergery Center.
- Activation of three burn centers in Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore in two years’ time.
- 385 bed surgical tower of Meo Hospital Lahore about to complete which will provide the facility of 18 operation theaters.
- Central Induction Policy
- Activation of 100 bed Wazir Abad Institute of Cardiology.
- Up gradation of ICU of Allied Hospital Faisalabad.
- Addition of 2000 beds in different hospitals in Punjab in span of just two years.
- MOu signed with Novartis to provide free medicine worth 44bn to 9000 cancer patients. Beside modern pathology laboratories to be established in Lahore and Multan and small labs in hospitals to be associated to the one larger central lab.
- Another MOU with Novartis to provide free medicine worth of 6bn to the patients suffering from different ailments like breast cancer, diabetes heart and lungs.
These masseurs and developments suggest why Punjab Govt is far ahead of rest of the provinces of Pakistan and able to earn acknowledgment even abroad.
Pertinent to mention that policies and vision of Punjab Gov’t under dunamic Shahbaz Sharif in the fields of health and education in particular has been lauded in different countries.
Some of concerned experts and commentators like Michael Barber, a British educationist and Founder and Chairman of Delivery Associates have put it in this way:-
“The third thing is the improvement in the performance and quality of hospitals. These are remarkable achievements. Until about 2 years ago, hospitals were not functioning efficiently which now have been greatly improved. These are remarkable achievements. None of them are enough as it’s not a finish job. However, it’s a tremendous improvement”, Barber further said.
“I think there are some significant lessons to be learnt from what Punjab has done. The CM never gave up nor did his officials. This is really important; great lesson, political leadership, absolute determination, continued focus and persistence is what CM Punjab is all about”, Michael Barber concluded.
