Punjab puts Rs1.5bn into free heart surgery programme
Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique says 44 hospitals, nine public and 35 private, are on the panel while new cardiac institutes are built across the province.
Punjab has provided more than Rs1.5 billion under the Chief Minister Punjab Cardiac Surgery Programme for free treatment of heart patients, provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique said while chairing a review meeting in Lahore.
The meeting on the "Chief Minister Punjab Special Program for Cardiac Surgery" was held at the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department. Dr Farqad Alamgir, chairman of the Chief Minister's advisory committee on heart diseases, and Health Secretary Azmat Mahmood attended.
Rafique said new cardiac institutes are being established across Punjab with an investment of billions of rupees, with the aim of giving people cardiac care close to where they live. Thousands of procedures have been completed since the programme began, he said.
According to Business Recorder's report of the meeting, the minister said 44 hospitals are on the programme's panel, nine public and 35 private, and that patients are treated at both.
Alamgir said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif wants heart patients to receive the maximum facilities possible. Mahmood said patients with cardiovascular conditions should get the best care available at the selected hospitals, and that the capacity of cardiac institutes is being expanded under the programme.
ARY News reported a separate strand of the same effort, the Chief Minister Punjab Children's Heart Surgery Programme, which provides free surgery to children born with heart defects. ARY News said the scheme is open to children from across the country, not Punjab alone, and is run through the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company.
The government hospitals in that programme, according to ARY News, are Children's Hospital Lahore, Punjab Institute of Cardiology Lahore, Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, Children's Hospital Multan, Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur and Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology. Fourteen private hospitals in Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad are also on its list.
ARY News published helpline numbers for parents seeking information: 0800-07542, 042-99066000 and 042-99066001, a WhatsApp number 0333-6756390 and SMS code 8500.
How the reports differ
Business Recorder reported the Rs1.5 billion allocation and the health minister's account of 44 hospitals on the programme panel, nine public and 35 private. ARY News led with a children's heart surgery programme instead, naming six government and 14 private hospitals, publishing helpline numbers and saying children from anywhere in Pakistan are eligible, without giving the Rs1.5 billion figure. Business Recorder did not mention the children's programme, and ARY News did not mention the review meeting or the new cardiac institutes. Bloom Pakistan carried a headline only, with no figures or named officials.
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