Hepatitis Clinics Being Setup at DHQ Hospitals

Hepatitis Prevention and Treatment Clinics (HPTC) are being set up at the district headquarters hospitals, under the directions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, says Salman Rafique, Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education.

In a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Health Reforms at Civil Secretariat, Salman Rafique explained that HPTC will be established in the additional spaces of the existing building. If no additional space exists, then new buildings will be built to fulfill the purpose. Furthermore he said that small dedicated clinics would be set at THQ hospitals to provide them with HPTC facility. The meeting was attended by the Primary and Secondary Health Minister KH Imran Nazir, Population Welfare Minister Begum Zakia Shahnawaz, Additional Chief Secretary Shamail Ahmed Khawaja, Primary and Health Secretary Ali Jan Khan, Chairman of Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) Dr Omer Saif and many other officials.

Rs 2 billion are being currently spent on the prevention and treatment of hepatitis, according to PC-I that was agreed upon from the Punjab Hepatitis Control Programme. Ali Jan Khan further informed that clinics would be established at tehsil level with one doctor and one nurse for counselling as well as treatment of hepatitis patients. The complete diagnosis and treatment record will be preserved in the headquarters of PKLI whereas e-monitoring will be used by Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute to keep track of the performance of the patients.

In accordance with the revamping programme an HIMS software has been developed for 40 DHQ/THQ hospitals, said Dr. Omer Saif.

Furthermore, the introduction of family planning programmes in Punjab was also discussed in the meeting. Also recruiting staff for Dera Gazi Khan and Nishtar Medical Colleges was finalized in the meeting. Moreover, the functioning and restoring of the fully operational areas of Multan Institute of Kidney and Diseases was conversed during the meeting.