Transplant institutions to be set up in Punjab

[Edevelop]

ADVISER to Chief Minister Punjab on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique has said organs transplant institutions will be set up in Punjab for which government will provide funds to the Children Hospital as well as Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore. He further said eradication of polio was our national as well as international responsibility, and the Punjab government was determined to make the province polio-free during 2014.


Khawaja Salman Rafique expressed these views while addressing an inaugural ceremony of the 10th two-day symposium of the Institute of Child Health and Children Hospital on Friday.


King Edward Medical University (KEMU) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Faisal Masood, University of Health Sciences (UHS) VC Maj Gen (r) Dr Muhammad Aslam, Dean Children Hospital Prof Dr Masood Sadiq, Medical Director Prof Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathore, faculty members of the institute, child specialists from India, UAE and Saudi Arabia and a large numbers of doctors attended the ceremony.


Kh. Salman Rafique said IG Police had been requested to provide security to the vaccination teams at 42 entry points in the Punjab from other provinces. He said complete eradication of polio virus was possible only if reservoirs of polio virus in no go areas of KPK and FATA were eliminated. He said every year lakhs of children were deprived of polio drops in those areas.


While responding to a question, Kh. Salman Rafique said Imran Khan besides stopping NATO supply should also approach the influential of the FATA for providing access to polio vaccination teams and providing them security. He said the government was implementing a comprehensive plan of upgrade of paediatrics departments of teaching hospitals, DHQ and also setting up new children hospitals at district level for minimising the workload on Children Hospital Lahore.


He assured the participants of solving the issues of the Children Hospital Lahore on priority basis and a new in-patients block of the hospital would be completed during the current fiscal year.


Earlier, Dean Children Hospital Prof Dr Masood Sadiq apprised the participants about the performance of the Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health. He said the institute was providing teaching and research facilities in 43 sub-specialties of paediatrics. He disclosed that so far 200 specialists had completed their FCPS from this institution. He said Children Hospital was catering to the workload of the whole country and providing free treatment facilities to the children coming from all provinces and Azad Kashmir too. He said the bed occupancy of the hospital was 200 percent and the doctors as well as nurses were doing their jobs beyond their office hours. He also apprised the Advisor of the problems being faced by the doctors and requested for their early solution.

Transplant institutions to be set up in Punjab - thenews.com.pk

 

[Chak Bamu]

Punjab government's commitment to Health services can well be gauged from the behavior of CM Punjab. How long has it been that we in Punjab have not had a provincial minister of Health? Whenever there is a crisis, the whole administration runs around trying to be seen doing something. This worked in Dengue fever case, thanks to Dr. Umar Saif among others. But I would like to point at what happened in the case of PIC drugs scandal.

The problem was started at Efroze chemicals, Karachi. Someone mixed a high dose of anti-Malaria ingredients into tablets meant to cure heart conditions. PIC had no mechanism to test medications, especially a one from a government approved supplier.

In the end, the problem was traced after multiple fatalities. Since then, Punjab government has not forgiven the doctors of PIC, who incidentally had NO role in this *uck-up. Even when Lahore High Court intervened, Punjab Government goes right on punishing them. Former head of PIC left his job as cardiologist in UK to be here. He really should go back. To survive Punjab Government, one needs to be a Dr of politics and sycophancy, not medicine.

That is just such a great DIS-incentive to any accomplished doctor who wishes to relocate to Pakistan.

Government of Punjab should undertake a project close to Lahore to create a great center of excellence in all medical disciplines. But instead of that we see a great campaign of punishing doctors for misdeeds of others. When the administration is obsessed by the drive to be SEEN to do something (as opposed to doing much anything sensible), then it is no surprise to see doctors being made to pay for the fault of a medicine company whom Government of Punjab can not actually touch.

So, for now we should be content with cosmetic baby steps in field of health, and to see top positions being filled with chatty sycophants on basis of politics rather than merit.