Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique on Saturday said that the government would ensure availability of medicines for seasonal influenza at pharmacies of all public hospitals across the province.
Addressing a meeting held to discuss the current situation of H1N1 influenza in Punjab, Rafique said that high dependency units and special counters for the best treatment of patients had been set up in the various hospitals.
He said the government was taking every possible step for the relief the people, adding that the anti-flu medicines would be available at all the health centres while the patients would get full assistance from doctors.
The meeting was co-chaired by Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Ali Jan Khan and Director General Health Services Punjab Dr Amjad Shahzad.
Besides the EDOs (Health) of Punjab’s 36 districts, official of the Chief Minister’s Roadmap team, Punjab Information Technology Board, Policy and Strategic Planning Unit, UNICEF, WHO, and programme managers attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the secretary directed that swift response be ensured for supply of curative medicines for H1N1 flu.
DG Health Dr Amjad Shahzad said that adequate stock of Tamiflu tablets were available with the DG office and directed the districts to stay continuously in touch with the CDC.
The meeting was also told that the staff engaged in the treatment of H1N1 was being completely vaccinated.
Director EPI Dr Munir Ahmed asked EDOs (H) to engage the newly-elected local bodies representatives for support in PEI/EPI activities. He said that following the lab confirmation of a polio case in Rahim Yar Khan, case response will be conducted from January 27-29 in Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan districts and Ahmad Pur Sharqia tehsil of Bahawalpur district.
He said as part of global switch from tOPV to bOPV, the districts must ensure utilisation of tOPV stock by March and submit forms filled by the laboratories (public and private sector) regarding non-availability of any material having P2 virus.
He also emphasised that prime importance be given to register, map and vaccinate migrant/mobile children against polio and other VPDs.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister’s Roadmap team shared data analysis on staff presence, bio-metric attendance, hospital cleanliness, medicines availability and stock/supplies situation, safe deliveries with an overall EDOs scorecard.
The meeting was informed that disciplinary action would be taken on unauthorised leave and for not ensuring hospital cleanliness. The chair also reviewed data on sanitation and hygiene situation in different districts of the province.