Daily Times

A meeting was held under the chair of Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhary Parvez Elahi at his office to review steps to enhance the utility and effectiveness of the Health Card program.

The CM gave in-principle approval to empanel more hospitals for patients to create ease for those getting treatment through health cards.

“The option of treatment of more diseases through health cards will also be provided,” he stated, and approved the addition of CyberKnife, a modern surgery technology, to the Health Card program.

In line with the vision of the PTI chief Imran Khan, the Health Card program will be further improved while the provincial government has also started providing free medicines to patients in emergency wards of hospitals.

Dr Yasmin Rashid said that two million people have benefited from the facility of free treatment through the health cards program in the province.

Principal Secretary to CM Muhammad Khan Bhatti, Secretary Specialized Healthcare Dept Mohsin Ghurki of Ghurki Hospital and Dr Amir Aziz attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal directed all deputy commissioners to speed up action against those violating dengue standard operating procedures (SOPs).

He directed this while presiding over a meeting to review the measures being taken to control dengue in the province, at the Civil Secretariat Lahore on Monday. Additional chief secretary, administrative secretaries of various departments and officers concerned attended the meeting while all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video link.

Addressing the meeting, the chief secretary said that no leniency should be shown over violation of dengue SOPs and action should be expedited in high risk districts, especially Rawalpindi. He said that culling of larvae was very important to control dengue, adding that special attention should be paid to indoor and outdoor surveillance in this regard. He mentioned that continuity of collective efforts against dengue was a must to overcome the disease. He also asked the officers to continue work with the same spirit and dedication.

The Primary and Secondary Healthcare (P&SH) secretary gave a detailed briefing at the meeting. He said that 107 people were arrested and 712 cases were registered in different cities during a week for violating SOPs. The authorities arrested 65 people in Lahore, 11 in Rawalpindi, 16 in Gujranwala, eight in Bhakkar, four in Sheikhupura, two in Chakwal and one in Attock. He said that 2,278 confirmed dengue cases and four deaths had so far been reported in the province this year.