PUNJAB Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, on Friday, unveiled a comprehensive package of reforms aimed at strengthening governance, enforcing accountability and improving service delivery in public healthcare facilities of the province. Addressing a conference of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Medical Superintendents (MSs) of public hospitals from across Punjab, she announced the deployment of Monitoring and Evaluation Assistants in hospitals, full digitalization of health facilitation and administrative operations, appointment of dedicated administrators and procurement officers and introduction of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess the performance of CEOs and Medical Superintendents. A revamped Performance Evaluation Report (PER) system is to be implemented to monitor doctors’ performance and district as well as tehsil hospitals have transitioned to a paperless working environment.
This is not the first time that significant reforms are being introduced to revolutionize the healthcare system of the province as health remained a priority with the Government of Maryam Nawaz and a number of people-centric programmes were initiated during the last two years to upgrade health facilities and ensure provision of quality services to masses. This is not mere slogan as provincial health budget has risen significantly from Rs. 399 billion to Rs. 630 billion; Rs. 22 billion in long-pending dues have been cleared to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential medicines; hospitals in every district are being modernized with advanced medical equipment including cancer diagnosis and treatment facilities; and 1,500 new doctors have recently joined hospitals. Apart from Clinics on Wheels, which are instrumental in provision of standard healthcare to people at their doorsteps, Motor-cycle Clinics have also been launched to provide initial diagnosis and treatment. It is not an exaggeration to say that medical services, especially emergency treatment, are much better in Punjab than other parts of the country but still there is room for further improvement provided resources made available by the provincial government are used judiciously, leakages are plugged and the manpower discharges its responsibility in the required professional manner. With this in view, it is appreciable that the Chief Minister has taken care of this aspect as, in order to ensure strict oversight, emergency wards across the province have been integrated with the Safe City camera network, while stringent restrictions on mobile phone use by medical staff during duty hours have been enforced. Similarly, hospital administrations have been directed to guarantee the continuous availability of medicines, functional medical equipment, strict cleanliness standards and improved patient management systems, including color-coded triage bays in emergency departments. Pharmaceutical representatives have been barred from entering hospital premises to eliminate potential conflicts of interest, while vigilance teams are actively monitoring facilities across all districts. Notably, it is a must for on-call doctors to reach hospitals within 20 minutes during emergencies. To improve patient experience, help desks have been established in hospitals to guide and support visitors. This initiative aims to reduce confusion and enhance efficiency in healthcare services. Another important initiative of the provincial government is home delivery of Insulin for diabetic patients, especially those suffering from type 1. These and similar other measures already introduced and being envisioned will surely go a long way in transforming healthcare services in Punjab to international standards. The Chief Minister takes personal interest to seek closer collaboration of some friendly countries like China, Turkiye and Japan to help realize this cherished objective. The revamping of the health system in Punjab assumes special importance as medical facilities of the province also benefit patients from other provinces, AJK and GB. The ultimate objective of the Chief Minister is explained by her desire to ensure that no citizen of the province should be compelled to travel to another city for essential medical treatment. This will save lives, time and money and lessen the burden on major facilities in big urban centres.
