MULTAN: The Punjab government has allocated Rs 100 million for Nishtar Hospital for the purchase of medicines, Personal Protective Equipment and other necessary items.
This was disclosed in a Joint Action Medical Committee meeting held in the chair of Punjab Energy Minister Dr Akhtar Malik here on Monday. The medical superintendents of Shahbaz Sharif District Headquarters Hospital, Kidney Centre, Nishtar Hospital, Children Complex, Ch Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology, Deputy Commissioner Amir Khattak, MPAs Salim Labar, Wasif Raan, Qasim Langah and representatives of Pakistan Medical Association were present in the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Minister Dr Akhtar Malik said that Rs 25 million would be spent on the purchase of PPE and Rs 75 million would be spent on the purchase of life saving drugs and other necessary items.
The minister said that health personnel had a key role in this current emergency situation and they must demonstrate in a positive way. All the hospitals should develop online portals in a bid to reduce the burden of patients from OPDs, he added. The minister directed that the tests of corona suspects should be conducted on priority basis. It was the prime responsibility of the government to provide protective kits to doctors, he added. Deputy Commissioner Amir Khattak said that those hospitals which were facing shortage of funds should inform him and he would talk to the Punjab government for the release of funds. He said that all the medical superintendents should purchase necessary items from contingency funds. The City District Government had decided early completion of walk-in interviews for the recruitment of doctors at Nishtar Hospital, he disclosed. No crowd or gathering would be allowed at Nishtar Hospital, he said.
Meanwhile, the City District Government has changed Markazi Tableegi Jamaat Abdali Mosque into a quarantine centre. Total 391 preachers from different countries are staying at the mosque. All the preachers would be registered for blood screening at the mosque.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Amir Khattak visited the mosque and distributed 750 surgical masks and 100 sanitisers among the preachers. He ordered sterilisation of the entire mosque. The Health Department also set up a camp at the mosque.
Meanwhile, the City District Government has issued coronavirus SOPs for shopping malls to save citizens and workers from coronavirus. The SOPs bound all the shopping malls to spray sanitiser at door handles and trollies while big groceries shops and malls would be responsible for sterilisation of floors. The sanitisers would be available at the entrance of malls. Thermal scanners would be installed at gates to check consumers. The consumers having cough and flu would not be allowed to enter malls. All salesmen would wear gloves and masks. All the commercial banks would provide antiseptic sprays at ATM machines. All the consumers would keep one meter distance. The meetings of factory workers have been restricted and the management would provide hand wash arrangements at entry gates for workers. All the factories would provide disposable gloves to computer users and telephone operators. No worker would share eating pots with others.
Telemedicine: The Telemedicine Department has received an overwhelming response from masses at the Nishtar Medical College with a sizable increase in queries of multiple diseases. Now the consultants are available on the phone round the clock to provide consultation to the citizens. The Nishtar Medical College had launched the service in a bid to reduce the burden of patients to attend maximum corona suspects. The department received 3,000 queries in the last six days. The NMC is the only institution in the south Punjab, providing Telemedicine.
Talking to The News here on Monday, NMC Principal Dr Iftikhar Khan said that the NMC was running one of the largest and most efficient telemedicine call centres in the country. The Telemedicine was the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies, he told. It allows long-distance patient and clinician contact, care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, monitoring, and remote admissions, he continued.
The Telemedicine allows patients in remote locations to access medical expertise quickly, efficiently and without travel, he informed. The NMC was providing online eight consultancies, which include medicine, surgery, gyne, paediatric, eye, ENT, dermatology and dentistry, he said. These services were for the whole country and 24 hours round the clock.
He said that the patients did not need to come to the hospital and they could consult on phone. The citizens could contact landline helpline numbers 061-4540210, 061-4540211, 061-4540212, 061-4540213, 061-4540214 and 061-4540215, he said. The free consultancy would be available round the clock, Dr Iftikhar Khan said.