ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to establish the first state-of-the-art cancer hospital in Islamabad.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on health reforms being taken in Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Prime Minister’s Office.

The health secretary briefed the meeting about the health action plan and said for the last 55 years, Islamabad’s hospitals have had 2,000 beds only. He said under the new Capital Health Strategy, the capacity was being doubled to 4,000 beds in five years.

The meeting was told that a state-of-the-art cancer hospital with 200 beds, a general hospital in Tarlai with 200 beds, three mother and child hospitals with 120 beds in Bara Kahu, Rawat and Tarnol will be established and the rural health units and basic health units will be upgraded by June 2020.

The meeting was told that recruitment of health professionals is underway in all hospitals and that nursing and associated medical science universities will be established in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

KP Health Minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan spoke about the reforms introduced by his ministry during the last 100 days such as the expansion of the Sehat Insaf Cards, assessment of inputs in all health facilities, 95pc coverage of the measles immunisation drive, community-based complaints and grievance management system and media cell, policies on quality of medicines and initiation of public-private partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to provide free care to around 0.5 million patients for four non-communicable diseases.

Punjab Minister Health Dr Yasmin Rashid said the Punjab Health Department was going to issue Sehat Insaf Cards in four districts – D.G. Khan, Rajanpur, Lodhran and Multan by the end of Dec 2018.

She said five mother and child hospitals were being established in the province along with a nursing college.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2018