Election Commission appoints 15 expenditure observers in Punjab
Chandigarh August 1: Mr. Surjit Kumar Jayani health and Family Welfare Minister Punjab on the basis of the reports received from all the districts said that there was no shortage of medicines especially the life-saving drugs and injections in the government hospitals.
In a statement issued here today, the Minister denied that there was any scarcity of Injection Mannitol in the government hospitals, as reported. He said that which this being a life-saving drug, mainly used for head injury patients but its consumption is less. He clarified that the Punjab government has adequate stock of the injection and state has already has a Sale Contractor for this medicine.
Assuring the people of the state in general and patients in particular, the Minister said that people would not be denied medicines and consumables at government hospitals. He said that district level committees have been constituted to monitor the availability of drugs in the hospitals. He has also directed the Director Health Dr. H.S.Bali to allot the district wise work amongst the officers posted in the Head office to ensure proper upkeep of the government health institutions and keep a close watch on the hygienic conditions besides ensuring the availability of all the essential drugs.
Meanwhile, the Minister has also asked all the Civil Surgeons of the state to furnish the details of the life-saving drugs stocked in the hospitals and if there was any scarcity anywhere it would be made available on priority.
The Minister also directed the government doctors to prescribe generic medicines available in hospitals/dispensaries to patients instead of referring them to private chemists. The doctors could, however, make the exception in emergency cases when certain drugs or surgical equipment are not available in the hospital, said the Minister.
Issuing a strict directive to comply with the directions of the Punjab government, Mr. Jayani warned that those who defy the directive would be punished. He said the government was committed to provide cheap medical treatment.
The Minister also said that the government was already in the process of breaking the nexus of drug manufacturers, doctors and private chemists, wherein doctors prescribed particular branded medicines in lieu of freebies offered by pharmaceutical firms.
