LAHORE, March 16: Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi has said that the government will soon start a double-shift service in big hospitals of the province to provide better medical facilities to indoor and outdoor patients.

This was decided at a high-level meeting presided over by him here on Sunday. The meeting was attended among others by the provincial health minister, the chief secretary, the P&D chairman, finance and health secretaries.

The chief minister said that government’s decision would result in lowering the burden on emergency department and providing better medical care to OPD patients. He said that new posts of doctors and paramedics would be created for this purpose which would help provide job opportunities to the youth in health sector. Pilot project of the double-shift service would be initiated during the current month, he said.

Pervaiz Elahi said that a Social Health Insurance Scheme was being launched in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank which would ensure health protection to the common man. He said that a health insurance scheme would also be started for government employees for their better medication. He maintained that service structure of doctors and paramedical staff posted in hospitals in the far- flung areas would be changed and special incentives and packages would be announced for them so that they, instead of shifting to big cities, could discharge their duties in the under-privileged areas with more dedication.

The chief minister said that the mechanism would soon be evolved to fill in vacant posts of doctors in the province. He assured that all-out measures would be undertaken to provide quality medicines to DHQ, THQ hospitals and BHUs at all costs.—APP