Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafiq said that immediate steps would be taken to increase the medical treatment facilities for the cardiac patients and to reduce the long awaited list of patients for different procedures.
Networking will also be developed among cardiac centres and teaching hospitals of the province so that work load of patients could be shared and equal opportunities of treatment could be made available to every patient, he said.
The adviser expressed these views while presiding over a meeting of Heads of Cardiac Institutions and Principals/Medical Superintendents of different teaching hospitals at Civil Secretariat on Saturday.
Secretary Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Najam Ahmad Shah, Special Secretary Health Dr. Sajid Chohan, Chief Executive of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan Cardiac Centres and the principals, MSs of teaching hospitals attended the meeting.
Khawaja Salman Rafiq said that according to the directions of CM, short-term solutions of these issues should be presented within a week time. The meeting discussed the issues of networking of cardiac centres and teaching hospitals, provision of medicines to the patients, uniform policy and rate list for the procurement of disposable items and stints for the patients and preparation of registry of patients.
Secretary Health Najam Ahmad Shah directed the authorities to maintain waiting list of paid patients and said that critical patients must be given priority, regardless of their financial status.
He directed that coordination with the Gulab Devi Hospital and functioning of cardiac units of teaching hospitals also be ensured for sharing patients load. Najam Ahmad Shah revealed that strategy is being prepared for optimum utilisation of available facilities in cardiac units of teaching hospitals and things would be more cleared within a week.