Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif paid a surprise visit to Pakistan Kidney & Liver Transplant Institute (PKLI) immediately after his return from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
He inspected different sections and facilities being provided to the patients there. He also inquired about the health of patients.
The patients coming from Lahore, Mandi Bahauddin, Kasur and
other districts, told the CM that they had been treated well at the Institute.
The chief minister also talked to doctors, nurses and the paramedical staff and said that the institution would emerge as a state-of-the-art facility for the treatment of ailing humanity and advised them to serve the patients with commitment and passion.
He appreciated the strong passion of doctors, surgeons and
physicians who left their lucrative jobs abroad to join the PKLI
and added that the noble passion was praiseworthy.
The CM also presided over a meeting, held at the hospital to
review timeline for completion of remaining works of the first
phase. He issued directions for early completion of the second
phase. He said the Punjab government, the PKLI and the
Infrastructure Development Authority Punjab had jointly performed
the job and the first phase had been completed well in time due
to hard work of all attached with the project.
“Now you will have to complete the second phase with the same
hard work and commitment.
“I have come straight to the hospital after my return from
Saudi Arabia so that I could personally monitor the quality of
medical facilities here and I am quite satisfied that doctors
and nurses have been working with commitment and passion.”
He said that electricity failure should not occur at all and
alternative arrangements should be made.
The steering committee should personally manage all steps
needed for it. He said that all-out efforts should be made for
completion of the second phase and complete attention should
be paid to cleanliness.
While talking to the media, the chief minister said that the
hospital would emerge as a role model institution in the
region and the first phase had been completed by doing work on
it day and night.
“We are trying to start kidney transplant procedures from
this month while the liver transplant will be started from
March,” the CM added.
The chief minister said that deserving patients from across
the country would be treated free-of-cost and the Punjab government
would bear the expenses of such patients.
The Punjab government has spent more than Rs 1.5 billion on
the treatment of deserving patients suffering from kidney and
liver diseases during the last nine years. These patients were
sent to China, India and other countries but now such patients
will be treated in the PKLI free-of-cost.
This is a revolution, brought about by the Punjab government in
the health sector, he added.
He expressed the satisfaction that world-class Pakistani
doctors were joining the PKLI and paid tributes to their
passion of public service. He said that the Punjab government had introduced public-private partnership to run the administration of the hospitals and added that this system was being further promoted.
He said the young doctors were like his kith and kin and
maintained that majority of them served the patients
whole-heartedly, but only a handful of them remained indulged in
strikes and agitations which should be shunned now.
Replying to a question, the chief minister said that Saudi
Arabia is a trusted friend of Pakistan who had always sided
with Pakistan in every hour of trial. The relationship between
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is very deep-rooted and both the
countries trust each other.
He said that Saudi Arabia never imposed any strings and
Pakistan had always fully trusted Saudi Arabia because our
relationship is not imitational or traditional and
both are interlinked with each other in a bond of affection
and mutual trust.
Saudi Arabia has always emerged as a trusted partner during
every hour of trial and the Pak-Saudi friendship has always
stood the test of time. Saudi Arabia has sided with Pakistan
at different international fora and it has given diplomatic,
moral, political and financial support to Pakistan without
imposing any string.
To another question, the chief minister said that his
visit to Saudi Arabia was not a surprising thing; the Saudi
government offered him to perform Ummrah and “I am thankful
that I performed it by the grace of Almighty Allah.” The
Saudi government extended the best hospitality.
Replying to another question, he said that some people
say that “I went on a special plane of Saudi Arabia, while
some others are of the view that I travelled on a private
plane.”
Later, the chief minister inaugurated the approach road.
It was told on the occasion that Bedian Road to PKLI link road
will ensure easy access along with connecting the different
localities. This road has been completed in a period of 20
days and is part of the project of construction of road from
Nawaz Sharif Interchange to Hadiara Road.
Provincial Minister Health Khawaja Salman Rafique, Chief
Secretary, Chairman P&D, DG LDA and others were present on
the occasion.

Source: APP