Poor patients to get cheaper medical facilities: Shahbaz

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the Punjab government is considering providing treatment and test facilities to the deserving patients at reasonable rates in private hospitals and diagnostic laboratories.

Addressing a meeting to review the ongoing drive for eradication of dengue virus in the province, he said that deserving patients would be provided cheap medical facilities on permanent basis and instructions have been issued for formulating a policy in the regard.

A system should be evolved under which, besides dengue, medical facilities should be provided to the under-privileged classes at reasonable rates in private hospitals and diagnostic laboratories, he said. He said that a vigorous campaign regarding dengue virus was continuing and cooperation of the people was of great importance to contain the epidemic. He said that the government was also making formal legislation for keeping the environment clean.

He said that a strategy should be devised for removing the heaps of garbage and draining out stagnant water. He added that the Solid Waste Management and WASA would present a plan in this regard in few days. He directed the officials to strictly implement the one-month ban on the transportation of tyres from the city and added that the process of fumigation and spray in all graveyards of the city, including the Cantonment area, should be completed by November. He said that “Qadam Barhao-Dengue Makao” campaign has yielded positive results and by adopting this drive as a model, cleanliness drive will be continued on a permanent basis in the province.

Expressing his gratitude to the Indonesian medical team, he said that the way this team was providing guidance to the doctors and nurses by visiting hospitals and extending cooperation in dengue eradication campaign is laudable. He said that an agreement would be made with the Indonesia with regard to cooperation in eradication of dengue virus from the province.

Shahbaz said that dengue virus had converted the elected representatives, bureaucrats and experts into social workers and they had set such an excellent example by serving to the ailing humanity as a team. He said that by following this example, not only dengue, but also other challenges could also be overcome and the country could be put on the road to the progress.

He said that government was implementing a comprehensive strategy for providing best medical facilities to the patients and curbing the dengue virus and action plans have been evolved for meeting this challenge in all districts of the province.

He said that the dengue patients were being looked after properly in the High Dependency Units and besides other arrangements, one nurse had been deputed for looking after one patient. Expressing satisfaction over the pace of addressing the complaints being received on help line set up for providing guidance to the citizens regarding awareness against dengue, he directed that the process of redressing complaints should be further accelerated and the parents of the students should also be invited to the seminars being held in educational institutions. He said that the cooperation of laboratories for conducting dengue test at Rs 90 is commendable.