LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday constituted a special committee, headed by the Chief Secretary, for devising a system for addressing dengue patients’ complaints. It will also submit recommendations within three days for mobilising the primary healthcare facilities in Lahore.The chief minister also warned all the departments that negligence in addressing the Dengue Helpline complaints would not be tolerated and ordered that an effective mechanism should immediately be evolved for redressing the grievances of the affectees.
He was addressing a meeting regarding dengue virus situation in Lahore, measures for curbing the menace and the progress of the ‘Qadam Barho—Dengue Mokao’ campaign. Parliamentarians, Chief Secretary, secretaries of various departments, representatives of World Health Organization and the leader of Sri Lankan medical team and experts were present. Issuing instructions for immediately improving cleanliness arrangements in hospitals, he directed that generators should be in working condition in hospitals while stabilisers should be attached with costly machines so as to protect them against power fluctuation.
He directed that a vigorous public awareness campaign should also be launched about the growth of dengue virus in the godowns of old and used tyres and the threat posed by this situation to the human health. He further directed to activate social security dispensaries in the province. “A number of primary healthcare facilities are available in the provincial metropolis but these are not being fully utilised. By activating these facilities not only treatment facilities will become available to the people at street and Mohallah-level but it will also reduce the rush of patients in big hospitals,” he said, while directing Chief Secretary to submit his recommendations for making operational such primary health facilities as were being neglected for a long time.
Issuing instructions to Secretary Labour to visit Gujranwala and Faisalabad, the CM directed him to personally look into the matter of activating social security dispensaries in these districts.Commending the cooperation of private hospitals and laboratories in the campaign against dengue virus, he said help and assistance to the poor and common man was a collective responsibility of all segments of the society. He added that number of the beds allocated for dengue patients in the Ittefaq Hospital was being increased from 60 to 90 so that free treatment facilities could be made available to more patients. – Nation
