Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid said that the Punjab government took concrete steps to defeat the Covid-19.
Talking to newsmen in Lahore, she said that the World Health Organization (WHO) is appreciating Pakistan’s steps taken to control the pandemic. She said that we increased medical facilities in the Health sector therefore infection rate in Punjab is low as compared to other provinces.
Yasmin Rashid said that the health department is constantly monitoring the Covid-19 situation after reopening of all educational institutions in the province.
The minister said that the government has established nineteen BSL-3 labs across the province for testing of coronavirus patients while 32,000 recruitments have also been made in the Health Department in a transparent way.
Meanwhile, Dr. Yasmin Rashid chaired the Patient Safety Committee meeting at the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education. The minister said: “We have selected two hospitals from Lahore and one each from Multan and Bahawalpur for implementation of SOPs. Doctors and staff will be fully trained on the patient safety SOPs. The primary objective of the training is to ensure compliance with SOPs for safe treatment of patients. In the Clinical Audit of hospitals, patient safety has been declared as an important component. We will make this pilot project very successful with the support of the WHO. After the successful Pilot project, we will scale up the project to the rest of Punjab.”
Dr Hussain Jaffery, Omer Ishtiaq, WHO representative Dr Zulfiqar Khan, Dr Babar Jaffery and Dr Yahya Gulzar also attended the meeting.
On the other hand, the Punjab health minister issued fresh directions for enhanced vigilance to control Dengue in the Cabinet Meeting on Dengue Control and Prevention at the Darbar Hall Civil Secretariat here on Thursday.
The minister reviewed dengue control activities in the province. Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Capt (r) Usman Younis apprised the minister of activities on Dengue prevention. Other concerned department also shared their respective activities in the meeting.
The Health Minister said, “All the Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners must send list of staff showing negligence. All prevention activities must be tailored according to changing weather. The Punjab Healthcare Commission must increase inspection of hospitals. Medicines are available at all hospitals.
The teams must identify hot spots, so that larvicidal activities can be carried out.” The Minister said, “The PITB must update and analyze data on a daily basis. Dengue is under control in Punjab so far. The SOPs of the Dengue Expert Advisory Group must be implemented. Enhanced surveillance is needed in affected areas. All departments will have to work in synergy to control dengue in Punjab.
