The expansion and improvement of healthcare facilities must remain a central priority of any government because access to quality treatment is not a privilege but a basic necessity. For poor and middle-class families, a functional public healthcare system can save lives, prevent financial hardship and provide much-needed reassurance at a time when people are already struggling with illness.
In this context, the Punjab government’s continued focus on healthcare development is a welcome step. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif at a meeting on Saturday directed the timely completion of ongoing health projects and approved the establishment of Maryam Nawaz Medical College and Teaching Hospital in Mianwali and Kulsoom Nawaz Cancer Hospital in Dera Ghazi Khan. She also approved a 268-bed Nawaz Sharif-Maryam Nawaz Institute of Cardiology in Gujranwala and directed authorities to expedite the proposed medical college in Layyah.
The government is also working on several other major healthcare projects, which are important because the country’s healthcare system continues to face enormous pressure. New hospitals and specialized institutions are needed to reduce the burden on existing facilities and ensure that people living outside major cities can access specialized treatment closer to home. The proposed medical district, with institutions for infectious diseases, plastic surgery, genetics, surgery and orthopaedics, along with a second children’s hospital and an Institute of Ophthalmology, reflects the growing need for specialized healthcare services. Yet, building new hospitals alone cannot transform the healthcare system. Equal attention must be given to upgrading existing hospitals.
A modern building has little meaning if patients have to wait for hours, struggle to obtain medicines or move from one counter to another without proper guidance. Most importantly, healthcare must be built around the dignity of the patient. A sick person should not feel that he or she is being treated as a burden. Patients and their families need an environment where they are listened to, guided properly and treated with compassion and respect. There is, therefore, a need for a complete transformation of healthcare facilities at both the federal and provincial levels. New projects should be accompanied by serious investment in existing institutions, better management, stronger accountability and a culture of compassion. The ultimate objective should be a public healthcare system in which the poor and middle class can enter a hospital with confidence and trust, knowing that they will receive not only treatment, but also the dignity and care they deserve.
