LAHORE: Gastro Summit 2018, held with the support of Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology, concluded at Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore where 200 research papers were presented which focused on the modern treatment of the diseases of liver, stomach and hepatitis and the use of endoscopic ultrasound was highlighted.
In his concluding address Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Principal Professor Dr Ghaisun Nabi Tayyab said that with the continuous efforts of the seniors, Pakistan had entered the comity of developed nations in the field of medicine and the people could avail the best medical treatment in their own country. He said that hepatitis was a wide spreading disease and Punjab government had especially focused on it. Annually 3.5 billion rupees were being spent to provide free of cost medicine, he added.
Professor Dr Ghiasun Nabi Tayyab acknowledged the participation of Family Physician Association in the Gastro Summit 2018 and welcomed Dr Mian Tariq Mahmood in the conference. He said that family physicians were the most important segment of the medical field and said that Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology played a pivotal role in uniting different organisation on one platform for the betterment of doctors. PGMI principal said that young doctors could benefit from the international summit in their day to day work and provide latest medical facilities to the patients.
Talking to the media, he said that efforts were being made to make Pakistan a hepatitis-free society and 1457 new posts of dedicated and skilled doctors and staff had been created in the separate Gastroenterology wards of Punjab and its credit went to the Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He said that through the facility of separate Gastroenterology wards, more than 70,000 patients were expected to benefit annually from endoscopy procedures while 400,000 patients would be visiting hepatitis clinics as well.
PGMI principal said that so far 281,678 patients had been registered while 196,936 patients were screened for Hepatitis B and C. Meanwhile, 172,208 patients had received vaccination for Hepatitis B and 54,489 out of them got free medication. He called upon the young doctors to benefit from the latest research and medical development and to apply it for the treatment of liver, stomach and other diseases. He said that a disease-free Pakistan would be a gift for the new generation and the doctors should endeavour to spread awareness to prevent medical problems in the future.
Professor Sumail Zafar and Dr Israrul Haque Toor, the organisers of the conference, thanked the local and international guests and said that it was an honour for Pakistan to have delegates from USA, UK, Canada and Turkey which would increase the standard of treatment in the public sector hospitals.
On the last day of the conference, foreign doctors gave presentations on Gastroenterology, endoscopic ultrasound, ERCP, EUS and fatness and its treatment. Different training sessions and group discussions were also held in which Pakistani doctors expressed their interest. Guests were also awarded souvenirs by the management of the conference.
Moreover, foreign delegates of the conference paid visits to the historic places of Lahore. They expressed special gratitude towards the traditional hospitality of the people of Lahore and said they would remember the tour for a long time. They also lauded the efforts of Professor Dr Ghiasun Nabi Tayyab and Dr Israrul Haque Toor on holding an organised conference which was attended by a large number of guests.