The Punjab government has announced a major healthcare relief initiative, taking full financial responsibility for the treatment of cancer and heart patients across the province.
Under the CM Special Initiative Cancer Patient Card and the Cardiac Surgery Program, patients will receive up to Rs 1 million in free treatment, ending the need for families to sell property or valuables to afford medical care.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz approved the launch of special treatment cards, with 45,000 patients set to benefit in the first phase.
The government will also introduce a dedicated program for timely stroke treatment.
The Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment will activate its OPD block by January 17, while the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cardiology Sargodha will become fully functional by January 31.
Recruitment for 219 posts in the cancer institute and 258 posts in the Sargodha cardiology institute has been approved.
The Jinnah Institute of Cardiology Lahore will begin operations on February 15, following approval for 1,104 positions.
Punjab’s major hospitals treated 25 million OPD patients and 16.2 million emergency cases over the past 11 months.
Hospitals provided medicines worth Rs 19.9 billion, while an additional Rs 480 million worth of medicines were delivered under the CM Medicine Home Delivery Program.
During the same period, medical facilities conducted 744,430 surgeries, 475,040 CT scans, 150,925 MRIs, 105,155 angiographies, and 157,950 echocardiographies.
More than 1.2 million ultrasounds, 1.8 million X-rays, and pathology tests for over 15 million patients were completed.