Maryam Nawaz flags theft of medicines, outsourcing of tests in govt hospitals 

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has said that medicines are stolen from government hospitals, and people are being asked to get tests conducted from outside. 

Addressing the launching ceremony of the “Maryam Nawaz Health Clinic” project in Lahore, she said that the entire team deserved congratulations on the launch of the health clinic. 

“It is beyond comprehension that medicines are stolen.  The security of hospitals is also being outsourced. Security personnel take money from patients for admission to hospitals. It is incomprehensible,” she said. 

The chief minister said that she faces a new challenge every day since assuming office. 

“Today I am coming directly from the meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee. There is a big threat of infiltration in the border areas of Punjab, which is a big challenge,” she said. 

Maryam Nawaz added that “The current dismal health facilities for the 150 million people of Punjab do not let me sleep at night. The facilities are not as they should be because the problems are too many.” 

She said that when she took the oath, the free medicines given to people in hospitals during Shahbaz Sharif’s tenure had been slashed from 90 per cent to 30 per cent during the tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and free cancer treatment had been eliminated. 

Maryam Nawaz said that the tradition of Shahbaz Sharif has been revived and now double the quantity of medicines is being given to the people. She said she personally asks people about medicines during visits to hospitals. 

She said, “It is our national tragedy that we do not do any work as a responsibility. We just try to spend 8 to 2 official hours, if there is duty timing, on mobile phones.” 

Maryam Nawaz emphasised that health workers should understand there is no other work in their lives except to serve humanity. 

The chief minister said that she has deployed her own officers in two or three hospitals in Lahore so that the facilities can be reviewed and complaints can be addressed. 

She said, “Change does not come overnight. Efforts are being made to improve services. There is a shortage of hospitals, and we have started mobile health clinics to reach out to 7 million people across the province.” 

Maryam Nawaz said that free home delivery of medicines has been initiated. Efforts are being made to deliver medicines to 0.1 million patients of cancer, hepatitis, and heart disease in the province. She also stated that modern facilities will be provided in the new cardiology hospital in Punjab. 

She said that during her study visit to China, she learned about the modern treatment of cancer, and bringing this modern treatment to Pakistan is her biggest achievement. 

Maryam Nawaz said that the construction of Pakistan’s first government hospital for the treatment of cancer is proceeding rapidly. There was no government hospital facility for cardiology in the entire Sargodha division, but construction work on the Nawaz Institute of Cardiology Sargodha has now started.  She added that there are 2,500 basic health centres in Punjab. This month, 1,250 units will be fully renovated, while work on 904 units is currently under way.