LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Friday said the provincial government has made a record increase in health budget.
In a statement, the CM said the health budget in 2013-18 was only Rs169 billion while the incumbent government has increased it from Rs369 billion to Rs399 billion in the current financial year.
He said work is underway on health projects worth Rs36.65 billion in the Lahore division, adding that the state-of-the-art mother and child block is being constructed at Ganga Ram Hospital for Rs7 billion.
A 1,000-bed hospital will be constructed on Ferozepur Road at a total cost of Rs8 billion, he said, adding that in the first phase, a 100-bed hospital will be made functional.
He said the emergency and trauma centres will be built at Jinnah Hospital and Services Hospital while Child Health Sciences University will be constructed for Rs4 billion. Alongside, the up-gradation of various wards of Lady Willington Hospital will cost Rs35.5 billion, he noted.
He said the hospital management information system is being brought in collaboration with Punjab Information Technology Board to bring government hospitals in a paperless era. The reforms would ensure the best health facilities for the citizens, he added.
The CM said that dental colleges are also being set up in Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur, adding that a total of 8 mother and child hospitals are under construction in Punjab.
In three years, the government has set up 78 new health facilities and 91 new health projects have also been included in the district development package, he said, adding that a total of Rs37.25 billion has been allocated for free medicines at hospitals across the province.
