Minister finds maladministration during surprize visit at LGH

Lahore: Health Minister Punjab Khalil Tahir Sindhu has said that on the instructions of Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, he is conducting tours of different government hospitals in the province. He said that the purpose of these visits was not to create harassment, but to improve the working of these hospitals as there should be some check and balance for the betterment of the healthcare system. He reiterated that he will continue the visits of the hospitals to solve the problems of poor patients.

He expressed these views during a surprise visit to the Lahore General Hospital on Wednesday. Khalil Tahir Sindhu reached the hospital along with media without prior information to the hospital administration. Minister Health visited emergency ward and inquired after the health of patients. He also asked questions to the patients and their attendants about the provision of free treatment facilities.

The patients and their relatives apprised the Minister that all the medicines are being provided by the hospital administration, but they expressed their concern on placing more than one patient on a single bed. The Minister said that the teaching hospitals are catering two to three times more patients’ load than their capacity. He said that for this purpose, there is a need of short-term and long- term planning.

Khalil Tahir Sindhu said that Health Department is taking solid steps for making the DHQ and THQ hospitals more effective, so that common patients may not be referred to the tertiary hospitals. He said that doctors of DHQ and THQ hospitals should fulfill their responsibilities efficiently and, instead of referring normal patients to the teaching hospitals, should treat such patients at local level, as almost all treatment facilities are available at district headquarter hospitals but they feel easy to refer the patients to Lahore. He said that special instructions have been issued in this regard.

On the arrival of the Minister in emergency ward, MS Dr. Amjad Shehzad also reached there after a while, and briefed the Minister about the patient’s condition and treatment facilities being extended to them. Later, Khalil Tahir Sindhu visited measles isolation ward and inquired about the health of children being treated in the ward. Dr. Amjad Shehzad informed the Minister that, at present, six measles affected children are under treatment in the ward. He disclosed that most of the children coming with measles are unvaccinated.

On this occasion, talking to the media, the Minister said that the utmost need of the time is to create awareness among the masses regarding the importance of routine immunization. He said that until people would complete the course of immunization to their children against several diseases under EPI Programme the permanent solution of measles would not be come out. He said that measles is a global problem and many other countries are also endeavoring against this epidemic.

Khalil Tahir Sindhu said that government, doctors and media collectively are working against measles with a missionary spirit and, on the identification of media, many weaknesses of the system rectified. He said that media should promote the slogan of “prevention is better than cure”. Health Minister disclosed that Punjab Health Department is launching a mass vaccination campaign against measles in another 18 sensitive districts, from 24^th June during which about 16 million children of the age of six months to ten years would be vaccinated, for which government has procured measles vaccine from UNICEF, at a cost of 500 million rupees approximately.