MULTAN, Feb 1: City District Nazim Mian Faisal Mukhtar has directed the officials concerned to upgrade six health centres of district as town hospitals and equip them with all possible facilities within two months.
The nazim passed on the direction while presiding over a meeting on health-sector reforms programme here on Thursday.
He said the construction of rural health centres at Qadirpurawn, Matotalli, Ayazabad Marral, Makhdoom Rasheed and Muradanpur Bosan should be completed within two months and these facilities have operation theatres, ICUs, emergency wards and ambulance service. Each of them must have a 10-bed general ward.
He announced that the health centres of Gulgasht Colony and Chowk Shaheedan would also be upgraded after the construction of additional rooms while a new town hospital would be constructed near Double Phatak.
He said the upgrade of Kotali Najabat, Rahimabad, and Mumtazabad health centres as town hospitals had already been approved while Rs7 million had been released for additional facilities at the latter two places and Rs5 million for the construction of a new building for Kotali Najabat health facility. He also asked the officials concerned to get the construction work started immediately and also acquire land for the construction of Chowk Abbas Shah town hospital.
The nazim further said the district government had allocated Rs5 million for free eye camps and would sign a Memorandum of Understanding with a reputed private firm to establish free eye camps in towns. He said since there was no health centre in six union councils of the district, land would be acquired for the purpose with the consultation of union nazims.
Mr Mukhtar told the meeting that emergency ambulance service (Rescue-1122) would be launched in Multan in June and eight ambulances would be provided initially.
EDO (Health) Javed Hassan Qureshi said the construction of Matotalli health centre was near completion and an ambulance and modern instruments had been purchased for it. He said the construction of Ayazabad Marral and Makhdoom health centres would complete in February while the construction of Qadirpurawn health centre was apace.
Meanwhile, the nazim expressed displeasure over the health-sector reforms and called it irresponsible and non-professional behaviour of the officials concerned. He said the district government had increased the health department’s budget manifold for purchasing medicines, but these were often found short at health centres.
He said owing to improper monitoring of medical staff and doctors, patients hesitated to visit the government-run health centres. He warned that the negligent officials would be taken to task.
The nazim also took strict notice of closure of dialysis centres of the civil hospital, tehsil headquarters hospital of Shujaabad and Jalalpur Pirwala tehsil hospital. He called a meeting of all doctors in district to issue them necessary guidelines.