RAWALPINDI:
Taking notice of an The Express Tribune report highlighting difficulties faced by cancer patients due to the unavailability of medicines at six government hospitals in Punjab, the provincial health secretary has convened an emergency meeting and directed officials to expedite procurement of the medicine and restore its free home delivery service at the earliest.
Secretary of Specialised Healthcare Punjab Azmat Mahmood issued the directives at the meeting.
More than 3,200 registered patients suffering from Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) at six hospitals – Mayo Hospital and Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, and hospitals in Multan, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur – were receiving a cancer medicine, Nilotinib (Nilosigna), along with other supportive medicines through a free home delivery system.
The medicine, considered highly effective in treating the disease, had been available since the tenure of the present Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as Punjab chief minister. However, its supply to Mayo Hospital in Lahore, which also served as the supply centre for the other five hospitals, was discontinued in June this year.
Cancer patients were subsequently advised to seek financial assistance from Pakistan Baitul Mal to obtain the medicine.
Following special reports aired by Express News and published in Daily Express and The Express Tribune, Secretary Specialised Healthcare Punjab Azmat Mahmood convened an emergency meeting in Lahore, attended by medical superintendents of the six hospitals and relevant officials.
The health secretary issued clear instructions to complete the procurement process for the cancer medicine in the shortest possible time and restore its provision to patients through the free home delivery system so that they could receive the medicine at their doorsteps.
He also directed officials to further improve the treatment facilities and overall healthcare system for cancer patients, making it clear that no negligence would be tolerated in this regard.
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RIC expects supply of heart valves within 15 days
Our Correspondent
RAWALPINDI. The Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) is expecting the supply of heart valves within the next 15 days following the issuance of a letter of intent to the successful bidder under a fresh tender. Elective surgery procedures are set to resume once the valves are supplied.
Earlier, The Express Tribune had highlighted the prolonged waiting period faced by patients requiring open-heart surgery at the RIC.
Upon a follow-up, the hospital spokesperson said that the RIC has performed free open-heart surgeries on 320 adult patients and cardiac procedures on 236 children under the government health programme since July 2026.
He said the required valves were available for emergency and urgent patients, but elective surgery cases had been affected due to a legal stay order on the main tender. A fresh tender process has now been completed under the Punjab Procurement Rules, and a letter of intent has been issued to the successful bidder.
The spokesperson, however, avoided commenting on the number of open-heart surgeries being performed on a paid basis and the preparation of a priority list for open-heart surgery patients at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
