Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has approved increasing the number of field hospitals to 105 and ordered for implementation of the field hospital project in tehsils.
Chairing a 3-hour long meeting to review health sector reforms on the second consecutive day here on Wednesday, the CM also gave approval to revamp 11 major hospitals in different cities. She said that entire health system needed to be overhauled, monitoring and accountability system must be introduced, adding that if there was no monitoring and accountability, there would be no performance. The CM ordered for a complete mapping to determine needs and problems of public sector hospitals across Punjab.
The CM was presented with videos of Childrens Hospital Lahore’s bathroom, operation theater and other facilities. She got furious to see in the video that a baby was bleeding in the emergency and his mother was covering it with cloth. Maryam Nawaz strongly reprimanded the Health Department officials over this act of negligence. “If this is the situation of the biggest hospital in Lahore, what will happen to the rest,” she questioned. The CM said, Eight children died in Sahiwal; we all are responsible; we must answer.” She constituted a three-member committee under the chairmanship of provincial adviser Azhar Kayani, and highlighted that after fixing responsibility, the people involved should be sent behind bars. The chief minister also directed the authorities concerned to rectify weaknesses in the vaccination campaign. Urgent measures should be taken for measles vaccination campaign in Punjab, she added. The meeting was briefed that a plan had been prepared to ensure presence of specialist doctors in small and remote hospitals. She directed a special committee, headed by the health minister, to monitor the proceedings. Maryam Nawaz gave directions to devise a system to determine performance of doctors across the province. She also ordered for taking measures to eliminate backlog of waiting list of cardiac patients.
The CM issued Instructions to ensure the provision of emergency treatment facilities for cardiac, stroke, burn and paeds patients in district hospitals. She was briefed on three, two and one level grading of government hospitals based on public needs. Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Information & Culture Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari, Provincial Advisor Azhar Kayani, Dr. Adnan Khan and MPA Sania Ashiq attended the meeting. Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Chairman P&D, Secretaries Sohail Ashraf, Ali Jan, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Zafar Dal, CEO IDAP Shahmeer and other relevant officers were also present.
