PHC suspends surgeries in 256 operation theatres of 356 hospitals

Lahore : The Punjab Healthcare Commission has suspended surgeries in 256 operation theatres of 356 hospitals, and issued show-cause notices to 314 healthcare establishments for not implementing the Minimum Service Delivery Standards.

This was told during a briefing here on Friday held at the PHC office for Minister Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department Khawaja Salman Rafique and his team.

Chief Operating Officer Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan mentioned that the ongoing campaign of the special inspections was initiated during the first week of January, and prior to this, the PHC had carried out more than 14,000 inspections of the public and private hospitals. About various aspects of the inspections, he said the PHC teams primary inspected those areas, which largely affect the masses and patients directly, and these included hospital infection control, operation theatre surveillance, hospital waste management arrangements, emergency services, fire and non-fire emergencies, safe blood transfusion and complaint management system. With the help of statistics and graphs, Dr Ajmal pointed out departments of various hospitals which needed immediate attention for improvement.

While appreciating the work done by the PHC, Minister Khawaja Salman said the inspections would go a long way in making performance of the hospitals better.