Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has said that money, wealth, honour and authority may be attained, but the opportunity to serve is bestowed upon only a few. “I tell ministers, bureaucracy, officers, doctors and everyone entrusted with responsibility that if we discharge our trust in the best possible manner, we will receive the best reward,” she said.Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology and Maryam Nawaz Heart Transplant Centre, the chief minister announced the introduction of home dialysis machines in Punjab. She said that she felt immense happiness on visiting the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology, adding that the institute had been her dream and she had eagerly awaited its completion.“I have routine meetings and official engagements every day, but on a day when I do not make any decision or take any step for public service, I feel that the day has been wasted,” she remarked.The chief minister said that the Pakistan Institute of Cardiology (PIC), established by Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, was doing an excellent job in Lahore, a city with a population of around 30 million. “People from Punjab as well as Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa come to PIC. With the growing prevalence of heart disease, it had become difficult to cater to everyone through a single public hospital,” she said.She expressed satisfaction that the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology had become fully functional and angiography had also been performed there. “Visiting the sick is a great virtue; serving patients and providing them treatment is an even greater honour,” she added.CM Maryam Nawaz congratulated Dr Hasnat, who returned from England with a spirit of service. She said that Dr Hasnat had studied in Pakistan and earned recognition abroad. “Many Pakistani doctors go abroad and excel in their respective fields,” she said.The chief minister said that comparing Pakistan with Western countries was a favourite practice, but Pakistan was only 79 years old. “Some Western countries have populations smaller than Lahore or even a street or locality here,” she observed.She said that around 100 million people visited public hospitals last year. “Medicines, surgeries and procedures are provided free of cost, while medicines are also delivered to people’s homes. In which country does this happen?” she asked.She, however, acknowledged that there was still room for improvement in the public healthcare system. “Unfortunately, medicines, injections and insulin are stolen, staff members take money, and hospital machinery is deliberately rendered dysfunctional through collusion,” she said.Despite these challenges, treating 100 million people in public hospitals was no ordinary achievement, she added.The chief minister said political parties should focus on delivery, public service and performance. “Unfortunately, one party’s focus is on agitation and another’s on corruption, whereas the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s ethos is rooted in service and development,” she said.“Wherever you look at a major project in Pakistan, you can see the imprint of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N. I thank Allah Almighty for this,” she added.CM Maryam Nawaz said that, by the grace of Allah Almighty, Pakistan’s first heart transplant centre was being launched. She said heart transplantation was an expensive treatment and cost around $50,000. “By using Chinese technology, we will bring down the cost of a heart transplant to around $10,000 so that more people can benefit from this facility,” she said.She announced that heart transplant procedures at the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology would be provided 100 per cent free of cost. “We have established Pakistan’s first-of-its-kind heart transplant centre,” she said.The chief minister said the institute had six cath labs, five operation theatres and, for the first time, a heart-lung machine. “Looking at the operation theatres of the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology, one feels as if they are in Switzerland,” she remarked.She said AI technology had also been integrated with the cath labs. A hybrid cath lab would also be available, enabling doctors to immediately perform surgery whenever required. “A hybrid cath lab can instantly be converted into an operation theatre,” she explained.CM Maryam Nawaz said cardiac surgery was a highly delicate procedure and zero-infection technology had been introduced at the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology. Tesla MRI and a 640-slice CT scan machine had also been installed, while a state-of-the-art electrophysiology department had been established.She said a director of nursing from New Zealand was serving at the institute. “Women work with great dedication,” she said, adding that Colonel Sabrina had been assigned responsibilities at the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology.The chief minister expressed the hope that the administration of the institute would ensure that patients did not have to wait unnecessarily, medicines were not stolen and the facility remained infection-free.She recalled that two-and-a-half years ago, around 15,000 children were waiting for heart surgeries, and 14,600 children had since undergone operations. “Ask the parents whose children have holes in their hearts. They had no money—only tears and endless waiting,” she said.CM Maryam Nawaz said that 2,460 organ transplant operations had been performed in Punjab. The stroke programme was also being successfully implemented at the district level. “Every moment is precious after a stroke,” she said.She said that districts such as Mianwali and Jhang had previously not even considered the possibility of having cath labs, let alone advanced cardiac treatment. “We have established cath labs in 20 districts of Punjab,” she said.The chief minister said Pakistan’s largest cancer hospital, with 1,000 beds, was being established. She said other provinces were also following Punjab’s example by launching air ambulance services.“During the 60-minute golden hour, a patient is transported to a hospital through an air ambulance,” she said.She said people from Azad Kashmir had expressed demand for Green Bus, Suthra Punjab and Clinic on Wheels initiatives. Under the Clinic on Wheels programme, medical tests, treatment and X-rays were provided in villages and remote areas without requiring patients to travel to hospitals.“There is no need for mothers and newborn children to travel to hospitals for routine examinations,” she added.The chief minister said around one million people were receiving free two-month stocks of medicines for diseases including cancer, heart disease and tuberculosis.She said rulers should take healthcare and other essential facilities to the doorstep of the people. “If people have to suffer and struggle to receive their basic rights, it means the government has failed,” she remarked.CM Maryam Nawaz directed IDAP CEO Shah Mir to complete the Medical District at the earliest so that patients could receive quality treatment.She prayed that every government hospital would set new standards in public service and patient care.
*Jinnah Institute of Cardiology was my dream; I eagerly awaited its completion, says CM Maryam Nawaz*
