Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that the government is taking revolutionary and historic steps worth billions of rupees in the health sector in line with the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif.
He was presiding over a meeting on Friday at the Specialized Health Care and Medical Education Department to review the Nawaz Sharif Medical District project. The minister said that a network of new government hospitals is being established across Punjab, with the provision of state-of-the-art health facilities at people’s doorsteps as the top priority of the provincial government.
“The Chief Minister wants to ensure that citizens face no hurdles in accessing modern healthcare services,” Rafique said.
During the meeting, Secretary Specialized Health Care and Medical Education Azmat Mahmood Khan assured that officers would continuously monitor the Nawaz Sharif Medical District project.
Under the project, Lahore will see the establishment of Children’s Hospital 2 and Institute of Genetic and Blood Diseases, Institute of Surgical, Orthopedic and Medical Rehabilitation, a Center of Excellence for Nursing Education, a Specialized Medical Hospital, a Cardiac Hospital, a Medical University, and a state-of-the-art Diagnostic Lab. The Infrastructure Development Authority Punjab (IDAP) has been directed to start work on these projects at the earliest.
The meeting was attended by Special Secretary Development Benish Fatima Sahi, Chief Planning Officer Abdul Haq Bhatti, Additional Secretary Ameer Muhammad, COO IDAP Maira Ali, GM Shahzad Nazir Leghari, Chief Strategy Officer Faizan Ahmed Riaz, Additional Director LDA Khurram, CEO Punjab Public Private Partnership Authority Dr. Muhammad Zeeshan Hanif, and other senior officers.