Daily Times

Sir: This is apropos of taking over of Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore by the Punjab government in the wake of the 18th amendment to the Constitution. Being a Punjab government employee, I was delighted to learn that a good hospital is going to be available to Punjab government employees for treatment as it was being funded by the Punjab government and public servants belonging to Punjab were now entitled to free treatment. Being a senior officer in BS-19, I took the docket from my department and went to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital for treatment but I was shocked to know that they did not entertain Punjab government employees. Even the Punjab Health Department has issued a notification to this effect about the entitlement of provincial government employees but the hospital administration blatantly refused to accommodate me and told me that only federal government employees were entitled and litigation was underway at the Lahore High Court regarding its takeover by the Punjab government. They told me that they would consider me as a private patient.

I am of the opinion that the provincial government has miserably failed to provide modern health facilities to its employees. Moreover, the Punjab government is going to start a new kidney and liver transplant institute at Bedian Road Lahore and allotted a 50 acres piece of land for this institute while the total estimated cost of the project is Rs 12 billion. My question is why start a new mega project when existing health facilities are going from bad to worse? The government needs to upgrade the existing health facilities, which will cost less. There is already a state-of-the-art liver transplant centre at Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore, which is badly affected due to the paucity of funds. It is a fact that kidney and liver transplant operations are very costly and people go abroad for treatment after even selling their property. How can the Punjab government provide huge funds for such operations?

I request the Chief Minister Punjab to take notice of this situation and take steps to show visible change in the province instead of empty rhetoric.

FAROOQ BASHIR

Lahore