Punjab Minister for Primary & Secondary Health Khawaja Imran Nazir has said that present government’s policy is to provide employment opportunities to the people and to create more jobs for youth, and no employee of the primary and secondary health department would be removed from the service.
The minister further said that 233 contract employees of Mother and Child Health Programme have been regularised, and the case of lady health visitors (LHVs) would be considered sympathetically.
He stated this while addressing a ceremony to distribute regularisation orders among the 233 employees of MNCH programme at a local hotel the other day.
Khawaja Imran Nazir further said that lady health workers, employees of Mother, Child Health Programme and the LHVs are the backbone of healthcare, and the access to prevention programme is reaching to every doorstep due to their efforts.
Khawaja Nazir said that he did not allow unemployment of 1600 security guards of the BHUs and ensured their jobs, and added that a benefit of bifurcation of health department into two separate departments is that more focus and concentration has been given now on the development of primary healthcare system and prevention of diseases.
He said that this decision is a reflection of farsightedness of the chief minister’s vision.
While addressing the ceremony Dr Mukhtar said that government had always come up with the resolution to the problems of the employees and is ready to solve their genuine demands.
This is an ongoing process but some elements, known to the fact, use the employees for their own interests and bring them on the roads. He emphasised the MNCH employees should realise their duties and try to serve people in a befitting manner with a spirit of humanitarian service.
Dr Akhtar Rashid Malik informed that four years back only 44pc pregnant women and mothers came to the health facilities to the LHVs for their medical checkup and now after four years, as a result of vigorous campaigns and hardworking of MNCH employees, 84pc women are taking benefits of the medical checkup from government health facilities.
He further said that at present 1103 basic health units were providing 24/7 services as labour rooms in Punjab. Dr Rashid informed that government has provided 466 million rupees for maintenance and renovation of basic health units.
Earlier, the representatives of IRMNCH Programme’s employees Mian Afzal Kamyana thanked the Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, both the health ministers and the secretaries for taking historical decision for regularising them.
Afzal Kamyana said that the chief minister has won the hearts of thousands of family members of the employees of IRMNCH programme by regularising them on their jobs.
Dr Mukhtar, Dr Rashid, officers of the health department and a large number of employees of IRMNCH Programme attended the function. Representatives of employees Mian Afzal Kamyana and other office bearers were also present