LAHORE, May 4: Punjab Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed has invited the Pakistani doctors serving abroad to join medical universities and colleges in the country assuring that the government will offer attractive salary package to them.

Talking to a delegation of Pakistani doctors serving in the USA, led by Dr M Ibrar, here on Thursday, he said the government was undertaking revolutionary steps for uplift of health sector and all projects were being completed within the stipulated period.

The minister said the government was paying special attention to provision of world standard training facilities to doctors so that they could keep in touch with the latest advancements in the health sector. In this regard, he said all-out cooperation and grants for in-service training and refresher courses were being extended.

The minister also called upon philanthropists to utilise a part of their earnings on welfare-oriented activities so that basic facilities of education and health could be provided to all.

Dr Javed said unique and modern burn reconstructive surgery centres were being established at Lahore Jinnah Hospital, Multan and Faisalabad. He said the BSc nursing colleges had also been launched at Jinnah Hospital and Nishter at Multan. He said modern institutes of cardiology were being constructed at Multan, Faisalabad and Wazirabad. With the completion of all these new projects, he said qualified doctors had bright chances to serve with attractive salary package.

The minister said the Punjab government was also upgrading the tehsil headquarters hospitals and rural health centres under the two-year Health Sector Reforms Programme.

He said qualified staff would be provided in all these hospitals so that a majority of the population living in rural areas could be benefited from modern facilities.