LAHORE: Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Punjab Secretary Najam Ahmed Shah on Saturday directed the heads of all the teaching hospitals and specialised healthcare institutions to prepare the monthly duty schedule of all the professors and consultants of the OPD and share it with the department.
He said that the vice chancellors of the medical universities, principals of the medical colleges and the medical superintendents of the teaching hospitals would directly be responsible for the implementation of the duty schedule for which they are being authorised to use their powers. The health secretary further said that official duty hours must be observed in the hospitals and the privacy of the patients visiting the outpatient department should also be maintained.
He stated this while presiding over a high-level video link meeting of the vice chancellors of the medical universities, principals of the medical colleges and the medical superintendents/executive directors of the teaching hospitals and specialised healthcare institutions to review the performances of the hospitals and the utilisation of the medicines budget by the institutions.
The meeting was organised by the Special Management and Internal Policy Unit (SM&IPU) of the department on Saturday. The meeting reviewed and evaluated the outdoor facilities for the patients, the procurement and utilisation of the medicines budget, laboratory facilities and other patient welfare related affairs also came under discussion during the meeting.
Health Special Secretary Sajid Mahmood Chauhan, Additional Secretary Admin Rana Mansoor and the SM&IPU Pro Executive Director Ahsan Waheed Rathor also attended the meeting.
The health secretary said that the department has tried to rid the teaching hospitals’ administration from manual work of the clerical staff and by using information technology in every sector to improve the efficiency of the hospitals has introduced new software. Shah further said that special indicators for monitoring the hospitals’ performances are also being prepared for which a software would soon be introduced.
He also directed that blood samples of the patients should not be handed over to the attendance for carrying these samples to the laboratory.
Shah said that collection points must be established for this purpose and the hospital staff should deliver these samples to the laboratory. He directed to contact the concerned officers of the drug testing laboratory for getting early sample reports for the medicines sent to the DTLs by the teaching hospital.
The secretary said that a software and gauge system should also be prepared to check the pilferage of the medical gases. Shah directed that from the next financial year the central procurement of medicines should be conducted for the allied hospitals of Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi to save time and ensure the availability of medicines in the hospital simultaneously.
He also directed that the seasonal influenza counter established in the teaching hospitals should remain functional round the clock and strict implementation on the SOPs for the treatment of the patients and for the protection of the hospital staff be ensured. The secretary directed to rationalise the use of operation theatres and said that an optimum utilisation of the OTs must be ensured by load management.
Shah directed that every hospital should create individual demands to increase the seats of pharmacists according to their bed capacity. Recently, he said, the government has provided 6000 nurses and human resource of the management cadre for further improving the management and the performance of the hospitals to provide maximum relief to the patients.
