Lahore: Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has expressed confidence that the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme will set a benchmark for other provincial governments across Pakistan.
The minister made these remarks while presiding over a meeting at the Department of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education on Saturday.
He announced that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif was expected to inaugurate the project soon. The minister also revealed that an online dashboard, developed with the assistance of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), will be implemented to ensure continuous monitoring of the programme’s performance.
“The Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program will significantly enhance the pediatric heart surgery system in Punjab,” he stated. “Children’s heart surgeries in the province’s hospitals will be carried out in strict adherence to established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and within the required timelines.”
He emphasized that t
he project aims to establish an integrated system of heart surgery for children across the province. “If even one innocent child’s life is saved through this initiative, our noble purpose of launching this project will be fulfilled,” the minister said. He mentioned that the recruitment of highly skilled pediatric cardiac surgeons was underway to ensure the success of the programme.
During the meeting, a comprehensive review of the project was conducted, with detailed briefings provided by the concerned officers.
The session was attended by key officials, including Secretary Health Punjab Azmat Mehmood Khan, Additional Secretary Development Dr Waheed Asghar Bhatti, Chairman Board of Management Punjab Institute of Cardiology Professor Farqad Alamgir, Vice Chancellor University of Child Health Sciences Professor Masood Sadiq, CEO Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr Ali Razzaq, and Director PITB Nausheen.