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DHO's urged

to show

professional

skills

RECORDER REPORT

HYDERABAD: Provincial Secretary, Health and Population Welfare, Rukhsana Saleem has urged the officials of the Health Department, particularly DHO's to make all out efforts to improve the image of the department through good performance.

Presiding over a meeting of directors and DHO's at Bhitshah Rest House here on Saturday, she called upon the DHO's and other officials to change their attitude towards the people and try to remove the bottlenecks for the betterment of the department, and work with sincerity and dedication within the available resources.

She said "we have good infrastructure available and there are no financial constraints."

She said she would be under taking regular visits of various BHU and hospitals to see for herself the working of staff.

She took serious notice of the absentees and warned them of serious action if they did not mend their ways. She also referred to the transfer and posting problems in the department and said no influence or pressure would be accepted in any form in such postings.

She also asked the directors and other senior officers to discourage junior doctors from going on long leave.

She disclosed that a new programme "women health" was being introduced in the province as such the DHOs had to play an important role to make the programme successful.

She said besides this programme, immunisation programme needed to be promoted and expanded. She further said that due to one or the other reason 58 development schemes of the Health Department during the last 10 years could not be completed.

She asked the DHO's/directors to pin point any problem faced by them in the performance of their duties. She assured them of every help and support to overcome the problem.

The meeting discussed departmental problems with the secretary.

Earlier, the health secretary visited and inaugurated the three-day free medical eye camp organised by District Health Office, Hyderabad in collaboration with Indus Lions Club Hyderabad.

Speaking on the occasion, Rukhsana Saleem laid emphasis on women health and said that keeping in view the importance of international Women's Day, this camp had been set up and she had asked the senior doctors to participate in the camp. She said such camps would also be set up in far-flung areas of the province for the benefit of the poor people.

She appealed to the philanthropists and well-to-do people to come forward and help the Health Department in organising such camps.

Dr. Ishaque Memon, Director General, Health Services Sindh, Dr. G. Mohammad Memon, Director Health, Hyderabad Division, Turab Ali Khoja of Indus Lions also spoke on the occasion.

It was pointed out that 17 such camps had been held so far in Hyderabad division.

Later, the secretary left for Hala where she presided over a seminar on women health rights which was largely attended.

She inaugurated the reproductive health services "A" centre new building, which was built at the cost of Rs 1.4 million and is managed by a team of 10 persons.

Speaking on the occasion, Rukhsana said that it was imperative that women problems were heard, understood and resolved. She laid stress on good health of women and hoped that press would play a positive role in the upliftment of women.

She further said during pregnancy, some 25,000 women died every year in Pakistan which was very sad.

She said it was very important that good health education was provided to women as our whole structure depend on them.

Addressing the seminar, Dr. Nasreen Siddiqui, Coordinator, Programme for Health Education, apprised the participants of the salient features of the programme and disclosed that during 1999, the growth rate of population had come down to 1.28 percent while Deputy Director, Social Welfare Hyderabad, Nayyar Malik, read her paper on poverty alleviation.

The secretary was accompanied among others by Begum Mumtaz Rashdi, Farzana Saleem of women development and other officers of Population Welfare Department.