KARACHI – Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah urged the provincial Health Department on Friday to expedite the remaining work on completing the ongoing schemes and improving the conditions at health centres working in rural areas.
Shah was presiding over a meeting at the Chief Minister’s House.
Shah stressed upon the Health Department officials to pay full attention towards early completion of important ongoing schemes, aimed at providing health facilities to the poor and needy ailing people. He urged that the development work on schemes should be completed as per the stipulated time.
He maintained that proper performance and better facilities to ailing patients with good results are being watched and judged by the people, and sincere efforts should be devoted to provide maximum healthcare, treatment, medicines, etc to poor patients in government hospitals, dispensaries, taluka hospitals, rural health centres and basic health units.
The chief minister said that work on many schemes is very slow and should be properly supervised and overhauled.
He said that efforts should be made to make rural health centres more effective and functional to provide health facilities to the needy patients in their respective areas. He added that schemes for establishment of trauma centres in all divisional headquarters, and anti-hepatitis, anti-polio, anti-tuberculosis and other programmes be further improved and expanded for treatment of the ailing people.
The chief minister also constituted a committee comprising officers of Health, Planning and Development and Finance departments to go through the progress, problems and requirements of the important health schemes and submit a report within 15 days. “Any liabilities will be paid for,” he added.
At the meeting, Sindh Health Minister and the department secretary gave a presentation, informing that the Health Department has a total budget of Rs. 4.697 billion for functioning at provincial and district levels while under the Annual Development Programme, as against the revised allocation of Rs 5.182 billion, an amount of Rs 4.957 billion were released and Rs 3.651 billion have been spent so far.
It was informed at the meeting that there are a total of 74 schemes which include 50 ongoing schemes and 24 new projects, while an additional amount of Rs 263.319 million was provided to the department outside of its budget, whereas, an amount of Rs 2.205 billion (35 percent) was deducted from the total allocation.
It was further informed that Rs 4.095 billion were provided to the Health Department under revised allocation of 2011-11 for teaching, hospitals, medical education, PSC administration/training, preventive programmes, foreign-aided programme, allocation for chief minister’s directives, block allocation, etc.
The schemes were funded by the federal government with 50-50 percent sharing, which included establishment of accident, emergency and ancillary services complex at the Civil Hospital Karachi; strengthening of Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences; provision of MRI and CT scanner at Civil Hospital Jamshoro.
The funds worth Rs 1.282 billion under revenue component were placed at the disposal of 14 institutions i.e. Women Medical University Shaheed Benazirabad, Safe Blood Transfusion, TB Control Programme, Malaria Control Programme, Preventive Control of Hepatitis, World Food Programme, Child Survival Programme, Development Wing, EPI, Aids Control Programme, Lyari Hospital, PMCH Nawabshah, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, the chief minister further emphasised the need to enhance the provision of health facilities to the people together with completion of health schemes.
The meeting was also attended by Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed, Health Secretary Hashim Raza Zaidi, director general, Finance Special Secretary Sohail Rajput and Secretary to Chief Minister Alamuddin Bullo among others.
