PESHAWAR, Aug 8: NWFP Health Minister Inayatullah Khan has asked health professionals to deal with patients sympathetically and provide efficient health service in public sector hospitals.

He was speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of Customer Services Centre at Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) on Tuesday.

The centre will be completed at a cost of Rs four million in six months. The centre will provide overnight stay facility to the attendants of patients. It will also provide recreational facilities to visitors.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that hospitals were places visited by people in distress. “These troubled people deserved to be helped,” he asserted.

Expressing satisfaction over the hospital’s performance, the minister asked the authorities to improve the performance of the hospital. “Compare your achievements with the set standards at regular intervals,” he asserted.

Mr Khan asked the technical staff to devote their time and energy to the ailing people and try to get distinction in their fields. The minister also directed them to arrange investigation tests immediately. He also visited various units of the hospital and issued instructions for improvement. The minister awarded prizes to various staff members for their performance.

Informing the minister about the steps taken for improvement of the hospital, Chief Executive, Dr Arshad Javaid elaborated that equipments worth Rs 30 million had been purchased for the hospital in the last three months. He said that apart from repairing the air-conditioning plant, waiting room of the labour room had been renovated. He disclosed that a detailed plan for improvement of the hospital was prepared while procurement of equipments for proposed kidney centre were in progress.

He said that technical staff for the centre would be recruited next week.