LAHORE, April 19: Punjab health minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed has said the responsibility of provision of healthcare facilities at a grass roots level has mainly been shifted on local governments after the devolution.

The health minister was speaking to participants of 89th Advanced Course in the Public Sector Management at NIPA here on Wednesday.

He also informed course participants that district health officials had been made fully active and involved in performing the duty assigned to them. The provincial government was providing full support, cooperation and grants to local governments.

The Punjab government, he said, was taking far-reaching steps to promote health sector and to provide modern treatment facilities to the people.

Dr Javed said the government had started big projects for the provision of healthcare facilities to the masses. He said that some unique plans were underway and on the completion of these projects latest healthcare facilities would be made available to the people.

He said the ongoing projects include restructuring of nursing services; enhanced emergency/trauma services; establishment of burns and reconstructive surgery centres; launching of latest hospitals catering heart treatment facility at Multan, Faisalabad and Wazirabad; establishing modern cancer hospital in Lahore; expansion of public private partnership; hospital waste disposal measures and improvement of emergency medical services at tertiary level.

The minister said the government had started the Punjab Health Sector Reforms Programme at a cost of Rs6.5 billion for the provision of latest medical facilities to masses.

Under this programme, he said all the 2,500 BHUs and RHCs would be reactivated and upgraded. While the required training would also be provided to nurses, LHVs, LHWs, midwives and paramedics so that basic standardised healthcare facilities could be provided in rural areas to minimise the infant and maternal mortality rates.

He said the service structure of paramedics, specially the midwives, would be revamped and steps would be taken for the uplift of socio-economic condition of nurses, LHVs, LHWs and midwives. These officials would be posted near their homes and allowed private practice as well.

The minister also informed the participants that the government was working to launch the Rescue 1122 project in Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Multan, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Murree districts after its great success in Lahore.

The minister also answered the questions of course participants during a question-answer session.

NIPA director-general Sikandar Shami also spoke on the occasion.