Improving healthcare system top priority: Naqvi

Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi visited the Punjab Institute of Mental Health without notice and the hospital administration was also unaware of this visit. He took a round of different wards and met the patients to inquire about their well-being. Mr Naqvi shook hands with them and asked about the treatment facilities being provided to them. Some patients pleaded that they want to go home as they are fully recovered now. Medicines are available here but we miss the company of family members here; send us home and we would be forever grateful to you, they added. Mr Naqvi asked for a list of the recovered patients from the medical superintendent and assured taking steps to send the healed patients back to their homes. Mohsin Naqvi regretted that even blood relatives have left their loved ones alone in this hospital. I have heard the stories of the patients with a heavy heart, he added. The MS briefed that about 250 patients have recovered but their families have not taken them back while some families have entered their home addresses wrongly. CCPO Lahore Bilal Kamiana was also present. A delegation of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP), led by its president Prof. Muhammad Shoaib Shafi, called on caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi at his office on Tuesday and discussed training of doctors, improvement of hospitals’ treatment facilities and availability of senior doctors at their workplaces. The caretaker CM directed the health department to ensure the presence of the senior registrars (consultants) in hospital emergencies. Improving the healthcare system was a priority of the government and the research and development sector was of utmost importance in providing quality medical facilities, he added and maintained that attention was needed to be given to the training of doctors, introduction of new courses and specialization in modern medical treatment. The stakeholders would be consulted about the recommendations of CPSP and decisions would be taken on feasible recommendations to move forward, he added. The delegation congratulated Mohsin Naqvi on assuming the post of caretaker CM while Muhammad Shoaib Shafi briefed about training and specialization programs. The delegation included SVP-CPSP Dr Khalid Masood Gondal, Prof. Mahmood Ayaz, Prof. Amir Zaman Khan, Prof. Abrar Ashraf Ali and Maj Gen (r) Prof. Mazhar Ishaq. Provincial Ministers Dr Javed Akram, Dr Jamal Nasir and health secretaries were also present. Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi has announced to dispatch medical teams to Peshawar to treat the Peshawar blast victims and added that the Punjab government will provide all-out support to treat the injured. A 13-member medical team was leaving for Peshawar with medicines and blood from Punjab, he added and reiterated that the government expresses solidarity with the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The martyrdom of innocent worshipers in the Peshawar blast was no less than a tragedy and the Punjab government was an equal sharer in the grief of the bereaved families, he stated and maintained that the beasts who attacked the worshipers deserve severe punishment. There are no words to describe my feelings and emotions about the tragic incident. Like all the people of Pakistan, the heart of every person of Punjab was wounded, he said and concluded that the cowardly act of terrorism cannot shake the firm intentions of the nation. Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi has expressed grief and sorrow over the death of the president of Pakistan Press Club UK and a senior journalist Mubeen Chaudhary. He extended sympathies to the bereaved family and added that Mubeen Chaudhary had a prominent position in the field of journalism. Mubeen Chaudhary’s services in the field of journalism will be remembered for a long time, he said and prayed that may Allah Almighty rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss with equanimity.