QUETTA, Feb 12 (APP): Balochistan Assembly (BA) on Wednesday approved amendment bill for relief and rehabilitation of citizens affected from terrorism by majority vote.
The assembly session was chaired by the Chairman of panel member Rehmat Saleh Baloch.
Provincial Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Noshirwani presented the amendment bill regarding relief and rehabilitation of citizens affected by terrorism in the province which was approved by lawmakers.
Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Bugti presented a motion in the house under the Rules and Regulations of the Balochistan Provincial Assembly Act 1974 for the formation of the House which was unanimously passed by the house.
After this, the assembly session was adjourned till 3 pm on February 14.
After the assembly session, Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar and Health Secretary Mujeeb Panizai gave a special briefing to the assembly members regarding health facilities in Balochistan.
The provincial health minister said that the assembly members should give suggestions regarding health and we would include these suggestions in the budget and policy making.
He said that the Health Department has taken several significant steps to provide better and high-quality healthcare services to the people of the province and to bring revolutionary changes in the healthcare sector.
He said that he issued directions to ensure the availability of medicines in all public hospitals and made it clear that no
patient would be forced to buy medicines from the market.
The Health Information Management System will soon be activated at Civil Hospital Quetta and BMC Hospital Quetta, through which daily monitoring of medicines and comprehensive records of diseases will be maintained via computer software, he said.
Additionally, state-of-the-art ICU units, equipped with modern medical equipment and machinery, would be constructed in the province he said in the briefing.
He said that a Cardiac Surgery ICU has been recently inaugurated at Civil Hospital Quetta and the establishment of this advanced unit will provide better treatment facilities for heart patients at the local level, eliminating the need for them to travel to other cities for treatment.
Furthermore, the Balochistan Institute of Cardiology is expected to be completed soon, based on the model of the National Institute of Cardiology, to provide state-of-the-art treatment to the patients suffering from heart diseases.
He said that in response to the overwhelming rush of patients at the current Trauma Center at Civil Hospital Quetta, a new Trauma Center building with 200 beds will also be inaugurated soon.
He said that additionally, the inauguration of the state-of-the-art Baacha Khan Hospital in Nawan Killi and Benazir Hospital in Ghousabad areas are expected soon.
For cancer patients, many of whom had been forced to travel to other provinces or to the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital for expensive treatment, a cancer treatment unit will also be inaugurated soon at Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Hospital in Quetta.
The Secretary Health Mujeebur Rehman while briefing said that the Health Department under leadership of Health Minister Bakhat Muhammad Kakar also introduced a new project to modernize Basic Health Units (BHUs) in all districts of the province, under which mobile health units are being provided to rural areas to offer medical services at the doorstep of the masses.
He said that moreover, special programs focusing on the health of women and children are being introduced, including the establishment of mother and child centers, vaccination centers, and measures to combat malnutrition.
He said that additionally, telemedicine services will be introduced, allowing people living in remote areas to consult with
expert doctors through video calls, ensuring healthcare access to even the most isolated communities.
Panizai said in briefing that 71 percent of the people in the province are forced to live below poverty line, people spend 40 percent of their income on treatment, most of the children in the province are malnourished.
He said that the maternal mortality rate is higher than other provinces, there are more than 1,400 health centers in the province, the health budget is Rs. 87 billion.
More than 7,000 doctors and nurses are performing their duties in the province, there will be a shortage of 8,000 nurses by 2030, providing health to the people without a workforce is no less than a challenge, he mentioned.
The Health Secretary said that 1,600 doctors have been recruited on contract recently, cameras are being installed in all hospitals to ensure attendance for improvement health facilities to patients.
A Healthcare Commission has been formed to legalize private hospitals, the department has been made independent from
unions and pressure groups, tertiary hospitals are being made financially stable, he said.
Panizai said that Health Department had given charges to division headquarters to transfer and other issues including recruitment of premedical staff with the aim to address related problems soon for maintaining service of health centers in the province.
He said that measures are being taken to eradicate anti-polio disease from the province and requested all stakeholders to play role for elimination of polio in their respective areas to save the children from diseases of polio.
He said that efforts are making to more improve health card system for interest of the people of Balochistan saying that reform would be made to improve standard of medicines in Balochistan.
Provincial ministers, advisers and Member of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) appreciated efforts of Health Minister and his entire team for taking measures for improvement of the Health Sectors.
They also gave suggestions regarding the development of Health Sector.
Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar assured the lawmakers to follow their important proposals for provision of the health facilities.