LAHORE, Feb 19 (APP): Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that under the Chief Minister’s Stroke Program, free treatment facilities worth more than Rs 3 billion will be provided to stroke patients every year.
Presiding over the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Chief Minister’s Stroke Program on Thursday, he said that important steps are underway to implement revolutionary and historic initiatives in the health sector of the Punjab government, adding that significant progress has already been made in the program’s implementation.
Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Azmat Mahmud and Professor Qasim Bashir attended the meeting. Professor Qasim Bashir gave a detailed briefing to the committee about the program, which was appreciated by members who also offered valuable suggestions.
The minister said the initiative aims to save thousands of lives. He added that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has approved the establishment of a stroke management center in every district. An in-principle decision to appoint a neurologist and pediatric neurologist in every District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital is also being implemented.
Khawaja Salman Rafique said a mechanism is being devised to provide immediate stroke management training to doctors and nurses in all districts. Steps are also underway to launch a telemedicine project through which district hospital doctors will be able to consult specialists for the prompt treatment of stroke patients.
He further said that a public awareness campaign will be launched, emphasizing the critical importance of the “golden hours” in stroke treatment. Plans have also been finalized to establish stroke management centers in all children’s hospitals across Punjab. “We want no patient to be forced to travel to major cities for stroke treatment,” he said.
During the briefing, Professor Qasim Bashir stated that one in four people over the age of 25 is at risk of stroke. Committee members stressed that awareness and training are essential at pre-hospital, hospital, and post-hospital stages of care.
Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Azmat Mahmud said a training workshop on stroke management will soon be held in Lahore and that all necessary resources will be provided to ensure effective treatment. He added that existing resources are also being integrated into the system to strengthen the program, emphasizing that every stroke patient is important.
The meeting was attended by Secretary Emergency Services Department Dr. Rizwan Naseer, MD Children’s Hospital Lahore Prof. Dr. Tipu Sultan, Dr. Nayab Ilyas, Prof. Dr. Wazir Ali Khan from Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan, Special Secretary Development Benish Fatima Sahi, Additional Secretary Procurement Ameera Baidar, Additional Secretary Technical Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Waseem, Executive Director Punjab Institute of Neurosciences Prof. Dr. Asif Bashir, CEO Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr. Ali Razaq, and other senior doctors and officials.