Punjab announces Rs3b annual free treatment for stroke patients
An in-principle decision to appoint a neurologist and pediatric neurologist in every District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital is also being implemented.
LAHORE (APP) - Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that under the Chief Minister’s Stroke Programme, 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.
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.
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.
