Primary healthcare system would be strengthen :Hassan Iqbal

Lahore:  Secretary Health Punjab Hassan Iqbal has said that the top priority of the Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif is to provide best medical facilities to the people of the province and prevention of diseases. For this purpose a new policy is being prepared to remove the gaps in the health sector, strengthening of primary healthcare system and more focus on prevention of diseases. He said that the new policy would soon be announced.

He expressed these views while addressing a Seminar on “Measles” arranged by the Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) here on Saturday. Former Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khawaja Salman Raffique, Principal PGMI, Prof. Dr. Anjum Habib Vohra, MS Lahore General Hospital Dr. Amjad Shahzad, Prof. of Paeditrics, Prof. Dr. Agha Shabbir, faculty members and a large number of doctors and nurses attended the seminar.

Secretary Health further said that we should admit that health sector is not delivering according to the expectations of the people and we have to work more vigorously to come up with the expectations of the masses. He said that government’s responsibility is to provide recourses while the experts and health managers have to make policies and strategies for prevention of diseases and provision of best health facilities to the people. He said that the health managers, policy makers and the management have to work jointly for making a strong healthcare delivery system in which institutions should be strong and a automatic system could be run.

He said that if the institutions would strong and functional we will not face emergency situation after every six months and we will not have to firefighting. He said the continuity of the policies is the basis of success and in a shape of present government, we have this opportunity therefore, all the people attached with the health department have to work with more commitment to prevention of diseases. Secretary Health admired that in some sectors the department has tremendous achievement like control on dengue in Punjab province while various countries are still endeavoring to control this menace.

Hassan Iqbal said that we should acknowledge the services of doctors, nurses and paramedics who are serving at grass-root level in BHUs and other health centers. He hoped that by joint efforts of the government and health experts, the measles would be control very soon. Earlier, Principal Anjum Habib Vohra and Prof. Agha Shabbir informed that more than 600 measles patients were admitted in LGH and only 3 deaths due to measles took place which is the lowest in any teaching hospital.

Khawaja Salman Raffique also addressed the seminar and said that Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif was personally monitoring the efforts and the steps being taken for the control of measles and the treatment of the patients in the hospitals. He said that the government and the health department taking all out steps to control the measles epidemic.