RAWALPINDI: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday took notice of the low wages of the labourers during her visit to the Holy Family Hospital and directed the authorities to pay the labourers according to the Punjab Minimum Wages Act.

She also asked the communication and works department to complete the construction work in Holy Family Hospital as soon as possible and said the government would not tolerate any negligence in the quality of construction work.

She asked the hospital administration to improve the services for the patients and the government had zero tolerance for the unavailability of quality healthcare facilities to the patients. She also asked to make arrangements for the attendants of gynae patients and others during the summer season.

During her surprise visit, she inspected various wards and inquired about the patients and the availability of medicines. Some patients apprised CM Maryam Nawaz about the problems being faced by them at the hospital. The CM, who prayed for their early recovery, inquired from them about the provision and availability of medicines.

CM pays surprise visit, wants renovations finished by June

During the visit, CM Maryam directed the hospital to arrange sheds and electric fans for the attendants of the patients who had been using handheld fans in extreme weather.

She also directed immediate steps for the treatment of a kid named Hasnain who had a congenital heart defect (commonly known as a hole in the heart). On the orders of CM Maryam Nawaz, a team of doctors from the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology immediately reached the Holy Family Hospital.

The CM comprehensively reviewed the newly constructed and rehabilitated block of the hospital and also examined the under-construction New Block of Holy Family Hospital. She directed the communications and works department to complete the work by June 30.

Delayed hospital project

The Holy Family Hospital revamping project worth over Rs3 billion has not been completed even though January 30 was the deadline for the completion. The project to reconstruct the old and new blocks of Holy Family Hospital started on October 22. After it missed the Jan deadline, the department was given till February by then caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi, who inaugurated the incomplete project.

The contractor missed the deadline again and the Punjab government led by the PML-N gave another unrealistic deadline of March 31 to finish the work.

Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique had asked the Communication and Works Department to complete the work by March 31 and make operation theatres functional before Eidul Fitr.

The Communication and Works Department still could not finish the work. Now, June’s end is the cut-off date for the department to hand over the hospital to its administration. The hospital has a total area of 672,000 square feet. The number of beds in the hospital wards is 1,030 whereas the average number of patients reported in the OPD is 2,161, 228 patients in wards, and 915 patients in emergency on a daily basis.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2024