LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid has said that now people should not worry about the expiry of the Sehat Sahulat Cards and treatment facility through the cards.
She was jointly presiding over a meeting with Chairperson Ehsaas Programme Dr. Sania Nishtar at the Chief Minister’s House here on Friday, to review the measures to provide more health facilities to the people of Punjab under the Sehat Sahulat Programme. The minister said that free treatment facilities would now be provided under the Tahaffuz program.
She said that citizens would be able to get free treatment facilities for cancer, kidney, brain aneurysm, kidney and liver transplant from the empaneled government hospitals of the province under the Ehsaas Tahuffaz programme.
She said that in the first phase of the Ehsas Tahuffaz Programme (ETP), patients would get free treatment at Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi, Nishtar Medical University and Hospital Multan and Institute of Child Health Multan.
According to the statistics, shared in the meeting, it was informed that so far more than 2.46 million people in Punjab with Rs 53 billion had got free treatment facility through the card. The minister said that 793 public and private hospitals had been empaneled to provide free treatment facilities to people. Citizens were getting free treatment facilities from 189 government and 604 private hospitals.
According to details, shared in the meeting, now more than 5.1 million people had undergone free dialysis through Sehat Sahulat Card whereas more than 53,800 people had received the facility of free coronary angiography, more than 35,000 people in Punjab had undergone free hernia surgery, more than 34,900 citizens had received free chemotherapy, more than 26,000 people had received facility of free angioplasty and more than 159,000 people had undergone free eye surgery so far through Sehat Sahulat Programme.
“We are trying to provide maximum free treatment facilities to the people of Punjab through Sehat Sahulat Card,” the minister said. Dr. Sania Nishtar said that Ehsas programme was a modern model of health financing based on protection funds. She said that now with this programme, financial assistance in the treatment of deserving people in Punjab would be possible.
Special Secretary Department of Specialized Health and Medical Education Mohammad Usman, Chief Executive Officer Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr. Ali Razzaq, Hasnat Ahmed, Deputy Secretary to Chief Minister Punjab Kaleem and other officers participated in the meeting.