Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that improvement of health sector and provision of quality healthcare facilities to the masses is among the priorities of the government, and added that funds of billions of rupees have been released for extending modern health facilities to the people.
He said that comprehensive reforms are being introduced for the uplift of health sector and improvement of treatment facilities. He said that an effective strategy has been evolved to provide medicines and remove the shortage of paramedics in far-flung areas.
Shehbaz Sharif said that all-out resources have been made available to improve public health facilities and Punjab government will continue to provide funds for this purpose.
He expressed these views while addressing a meeting through video conference from London which reviewed different measures for provision of quality healthcare facilities to the masses.
The chief minister said that provision of modern treatment facilities to the masses is the priority of the government and that collective efforts are needed for this purpose. He said that serving the ailing humanity is no less than worship, adding that the provision of quality medical facilities to the people of the province is a collective responsibility and all concerned institutions will have to play their due role in this regard.
He said that access to quality healthcare facilities is the basic right of the citizens, and added that there is a need to improve the system of production and supply of quality medicines. He said that all concerned institutions should play an effective role to ensure supply of quality medicines to hospitals while a comprehensive mechanism is needed for storage of drugs.
The chief minister said that those involved in production and sale of spurious drugs are enemies of humanity and indiscriminate crackdown will be launched against such elements. He said that no leniency will be shown to such elements as they are playing with the lives of people.
Shehbaz Sharif said that provision of quality medicines to patients is the responsibility of government, and therefore, indiscriminate legal action should be taken against those involved in the production and sale of spurious and substandard drugs.
He said that multidimensional steps will have to be taken to improve healthcare services so that better treatment facilities could be made available to the citizens.
The chief minister said that a state-of-the-art Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre is being set up in the provincial metropolis and that this project will tremendously improve public health facilities. He said that modern treatment facilities for kidney and liver diseases will be made available to the patients under a single roof with the completion of the project. He said that Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Researh Centre will be a unique institution of its kind in the country and the project will be a milestone with regard to public health facilities.