Government committed to provide best treatment to masses: minister

The Punjab government is committed to provide best treatment and diagnostic facilities to masses while new hospitals are being constructed in different districts to reduce the workload on the tertiary care hospitals of Lahore. Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Kh. Salman Rafique said at a function in a public sector hospital, that during the last three years beds capacity has been increased and a large number of beds have been included in the hospitals.
He said that Government Shahdara Teaching Hospital would be made a model hospital by providing latest facilities and equipment to ensure provision of quality healthcare to the public at local level. Salman Rafique said that government has established half a dozen tehsil level hospitals in Lahore and up gradation of tertiary hospitals have also been carried out. Moreover, bed capacity of the hospitals has also been enhanced. He disclosed that new hospitals of 500 beds are under construction in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Sahiwal and Dera Ghazi Khan which would be completed in a year through which 2000 beds would be included in the system. He said that a 500 beds hospital costs Rs 4 to 5 billion.
Salman Rafique said that government is moving forward with a strategy to establish hospitals in other cities for providing treatment facilities to the people at local level. He disclosed that government is also going in an understanding with the hospitals attached to the private medical colleges for resolving the non-availability of beds.
Moreover, chairing a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Dengue, Salman said that due to the change in the weather the dengue season has been started, therefore, all the concerned government departments and agencies should be ready to combat dengue.
He said that indoor and outdoor dengue surveillance and other anti-dengue steps should be taken according to the SOPs. Salman Rafique directed that a meeting of Medical Superintendents of teaching hospitals also be called to evaluate the arrangements for treatment of dengue patients in the hospitals. He directed to complete refresher courses for the doctors and nurses of public sector as well as private hospitals on case management through Dengue Expert Advisory Group. Salman Rafique directed that micro planning for indoor and outdoor dengue surveillance should be prepared keeping in view the previous years' experiences and removes the flaws at operational level for better combating against dengue.