LAHORE: Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique Thursday paid a surprise visit to General Hospital Lahore and Punjab Institute of Neurosciences, met patients in OPD and reviewed medical facilities.
The Director OPD was given a last chance to improve performance. An official of the Chief Minister’s Complaint Cell was removed for using a mobile phone.
Khawaja Salman Rafique said that for the convenience of patients in the General Hospital, four more ultrasound machines have been provided in the Radiology Department and a queue management system has been activated for the convenience of patients.
Queue management system is also being activated to reduce the rush of patients’ queues in the hospitals. He visited the Emergency, Chief Minister’s Complaint Counter, Neurology, Slip Counters, Medicine Store and other departments.
Khawaja Salman said that the conditions of government hospitals are improving with continuous monitoring. MSs should create facilities for patients. Hospitals are being visited on a daily basis. Medicine lists and duty rosters should be displayed in every ward in hospitals.
Every effort is being made to improve the conditions of government hospitals. No compromise is being made in the treatment and care of patients. He said that the series of hospital visits will continue.
Direct feedback is being taken from patients about medical facilities by visiting hospitals and instructions are being issued to MSs on the spot on the complaints of patients.
Moreover, chairing an important meeting at the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company, the health minister reviewed the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme, Chief Minister’s Dialysis Programme and Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Programme in detail. Dr Ali Razaq also gave a briefing in this regard.
Salman said that Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme, Chief Minister’s Dialysis Programme and Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Programme are the flagship programmes of the Punjab government. Under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme, more than 3100 innocent children have been operated on so far.
Children’s heart surgery is being done in 6 government and 9 private hospitals of Punjab. Under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Program, free facilities of kidney/renal, liver, bone marrow, corneal and cochlear transplant are being provided to the patients.
Under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Programme, 14 private hospitals have been selected for renal transplant, 4 for liver transplant, 2 for bone marrow transplant and 5 for cochlear transplant. He said that under the three unique health programmes, billions of rupees worth of free treatment and care have been provided to patients so far.
Improvements are being made in the three historic programmes of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, 100 percent transparency is being ensured in Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme, Chief Minister’s Dialysis Programme and Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Programme.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025