`Promises made with doctors to be honoured`

LAHORE, April 28: Senator Pervaiz Rashid says the promises made by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif with doctors will be fulfilled and they will get a good news regarding increase in their salaries in the coming budget. In a statement issued on Thursday, Mr Rashid said resolution of problems of doctors was priority of the government and their longstanding demands had been resolved. He said the government had regularised the services of 6,000 doctors working on contract for the last 12 years and 750 new vacancies of postgraduate trainee doctors were also created. In addition, more than 1,600 medical officers were recruited through the Punjab Public Service Commission in the present era and monthly allowances of PG trainee doctors and house officers were increased. Senator Rashid added the budget of Health Department had increased four times in the last three years from Rs11 billion to Rs46 billion. He said air-conditioners and generators were installed in general wards at a cost of Rs2 billion for creating a patient-friendly atmosphere in hospitals. Furthermore, besides emergency, provision of free medicines was ensured in indoors for which Rs6 billion had been allocated in the current budget. He said the government had taken unprecedented measures for the welfare of doctors and that the chief minister and his political team had pledged that they would adopt austerity in spending national resources till the improvement of living condition of the people of Punjab. He said those elements creating misunderstandings between the chief minister and doctors for their vested interests, in fact, were not serious in resolution of problems of doctors.