LAHORE, Mar 04 (APP):Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that significant progress is being made on special programmes for cancer treatment and adult cardiac surgery across Punjab.
He expressed these views while chairing a meeting at the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company regarding the Chief Minister’s health initiatives on Wednesday. During the meeting, a detailed briefing was given on the monitoring framework of various health projects, service delivery mechanisms and steps taken to facilitate patients. Public feedback on new and innovative health projects was also reviewed.
The provincial health minister stressed the importance of ensuring transparency in flagship programs, improving the quality of services and strengthening monitoring systems to provide maximum convenience to patients. He said that millions of patients have benefited from specialized hospitals across Punjab where numerous surgeries have been performed and free medicines worth billions of rupees have been distributed.
Khawaja Salman Rafique highlighted that progress is underway under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Cancer Patient Card. He added that special programs for cancer and adult cardiac surgery are moving forward steadily. Under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program, more than 10,909 children have undergone completely free heart surgeries across the province at a cost of billions of rupees.
He further stated that under the same program, 445 children from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 260 from Azad Kashmir, 109 from Islamabad, 29 from Balochistan, 40 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 27 from Sindh have also received free cardiac surgeries in Punjab.
Under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Program, a total of 1,366 transplants have been performed so far, including 711 renal transplants, 387 cochlear implants, 220 liver transplants, 16 bone marrow transplants and 32 corneal transplants. Under the Chief Minister’s Dialysis Program, more than 1.432 million dialysis sessions have been provided free of cost, while over 36,236 patients have been registered in hospitals for dialysis treatment.
The minister said that the Punjab Public Service Commission is recruiting thousands of new doctors and nurses on 100 percent merit. After the approval of the provincial cabinet, doctors are also being recruited on an ad hoc basis in various hospitals to address shortages. He added that the OPD block of the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research will soon be made operational, fulfilling the commitment to save thousands of lives. The Jinnah Institute of Cardiology in Lahore will also become functional very soon. He reiterated that all available resources are being utilized to provide the best health facilities to the people of Punjab.
On the occasion, Health Secretary Azmat Mahmood said that the performance of 57 specialized hospitals in Punjab was reviewed during the meeting. He informed that for the convenience of heart patients in Sargodha Division, it has been directed to make the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cardiology fully functional by April 2026. Instructions have also been issued to complete the Nawaz Sharif Cardiology Center Murree at all costs.
COO Shamshad Khan, Mian Muneeb and other officers attended the meeting. Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department Azmat Mahmood participated through video link. Health Economist Dr. Muhammad Adnan Khan and Chairman Chief Minister’s Advisory Committee for Cardiology Dr. Farqad Alamgir also joined the meeting via video link. CEO Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr. Ali Razaq was present on the occasion.