Taran Taran: The health and family welfare Minister Punjab Surjit Kumar Jayani said that the Punjab government, in order to overcome the shortage of doctors and streamline the functioning of the health services in Punjab, was in the process of appointing 330 specialists and 430 MBBS doctors shortly.
Addressing the gathering today Jayani after laying the foundation stone of the Opioid Substitution Treatment (OPT) and Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) centers, reiterated the strong resolve of the government to provide best possible health care facilities to people.
Speaking at a function organized by the Punjab State AIDS Control Society to mark the World AIDS Day, the Minister expressed concern over the rise of cases of sexually transmitted diseases in the country. He said that as many as 20 lakh patients across the country were suffering from AIDS and about 2 lakh people have died so far. In Punjab till October 2014 as many as 43492 cases have been confirmed with this deadly disease and unfortunately about 3750 have already died.
He said that 20 OST centers and 8 ART centres were already functional in the state where the patients are being treated. Cautioning the people against the ill effects of AIDS, the Minister advocated the people to follow the old traditional Indian life style instead of running towards the western culture.
The Minister also said that there were about 100 blood banks owned by the state government; private sectors and Military were already operational in Punjab. He said that despite the shortage of medical and para medical staff in the government hospitals, the number of delivery and OPD cases has risen substantially. He said that the government has made mandatory for the doctors completing PG courses to work for 10 long years in the government hospitals. The government has launched an emergency round the clock 104 helpline on which people could get their complaints registered, has also evoked tremendous response.
To protect the people of spending huge money on the diagnostic tests conducted by the privately managed diagnostic centers, all the laboratories in the state would remain open till 6 in the evening so that all the required tests are done in the government diagnostic centers
