Free medicines cannot be provided to all patients: Yasmin Rashid

LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid on Thursday excused provision of free drugs to all patients and said that the facility would be provided to the persons receiving treatment at emergency centres and hospitals, ARY News reported.

In her latest statement, Dr Yasmin Rashid clarified that the facility could not be extended to all patients of Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) if the provincial government spends its overall budget on free medicines.

She said that the government has a responsibility to provide free medicines to the patients under treatment in state-owned hospitals.

Rashid added that patients admitted in the labour room and emergency centres would be given the facility.

Commenting over hike in medicines’ prices, the minister said that pharmaceutical companies took the step after variation in rates of US dollar and devaluation of Pakistani currency.

Red More: Dr Yasmin inaugurates advance birth and death record system in Lahore

On May 29, Dr Yasmin Rashid had announced that emergency measures were being taken by the provincial government to reduce the number of maternal deaths.

She said this in a meeting with a delegation of tThe United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which called on her in Lahore.

Both the delegation and minister discussed the measures taken for child-mother healthcare in Punjab.

During the meeting, the delegation was briefed about the Prime Minister Health Programme.

Dr Yasmin Rashid said that Punjab government will establish child-mother hospitals in five district of the province.