Lahore: Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique on Wednesday said the Punjab government was taking historic and fundamental measures to strengthen the healthcare system and provide quality medical facilities to the people.
He was speaking at the 118th meeting of the Board of Directors of Punjab Health Initiative Management Company (PHIMC), which he chaired here.
The meeting was briefed on various health projects and the provision of free treatment to patients through designated hospitals. It was informed that free treatment facilities worth more than Rs18. 5 billion had so far been provided to patients under various special health programmes.
Khawaja Salman Rafique said all available resources were being utilized to provide the best possible healthcare facilities to the people. He said under the Chief Minister’s Adult Cardiac Surgery Programme, free treatment worth more than Rs3 billion was being provided annually to heart patients.
He said the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Cancer Patients was providing free diagnostic, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgical and medical treatment facilities annually at a cost of around Rs13 billion.
Under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Stroke Management, free treatment facilities worth more than Rs3 billion were being provided to stroke patients annually, he added.
The minister said more than 14, 415 children had so far undergone free heart surgeries under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme at a cost of billions of rupees. He said children from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, Islamabad, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh had also benefited from the programme.
He said 2, 409 transplants had so far been performed under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Programme, including 1, 157 renal, 778 cochlear, 373 liver, 51 bone marrow and 50 corneal transplants.
Under the Chief Minister’s Dialysis Programme, more than 2. 16 million dialysis sessions had been provided free of cost, while over 46, 834 patients had so far been registered at hospitals for dialysis treatment.
The minister said more than 38, 095 cancer patients had been registered under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Cancer Patients, while more than 103, 465 patients had so far received treatment under the programme.
He said more than 8, 791 patients had been enrolled under the Chief Minister’s Cardiac Surgery Programme, while over 1, 491 patients had undergone free heart surgeries under the Adult Cardiac Surgery Programme.
Khawaja Salman Rafique reiterated that the government was utilizing all available resources to provide the best healthcare facilities to the people of Punjab.
During the meeting, the board considered approval of the minutes of its 115th, 116th and 117th meetings and discussed approval of project documents for the Chief Minister’s Health Initiatives.
The board also discussed the inclusion of peritoneal dialysis in the Chief Minister’s Dialysis Programme. It approved the services of an event management firm under a framework contract on the recommendations of the Procurement Committee.
The board approved the annual procurement plan for financial year 2026-27, the budget for the same financial year and the accounts for the second and third quarters on the recommendations of the Audit Committee.
Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department Azmat Mahmood, who participated through video link, directed that maximum facilities be provided to patients at empanelled hospitals. He said instructions had been issued to resolve patients’ problems at such hospitals on a priority basis.
Health Economist Dr Muhammad Adnan Khan, Board Member Dr Shujaat Ali and Additional Secretary Finance Zubda Mubashir participated through video link.
Board Member Parveen Agha, CEO Punjab Healthcare Commission Dr Saqib Aziz, Member Health PandD Shafaat Ali, Director PITB Nousheen Fayyaz and other officials attended the meeting.
Former DG Health Punjab and Board Member Dr Zahid Pervaiz and CEO Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr Ali Razaq also participated in the meeting.
