LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to introduce a new health model, treatment in four hours, to eliminate lifelong disability in Punjab. She chaired a special meeting to approve the establishment of stroke management centers in every district across Punjab.
She said that the scope of stroke centers will be gradually expanded to tehsils, as she does not want any patient to go to distant cities in case of emergency.
She added that the public should be made aware of the symptoms of stroke and the importance of the four-hour “golden hour,” as a stroke patient can be saved from disability if they are taken to the nearest stroke center within four hours. She highlighted, “My vision is that every patient should have access to emergency treatment at the nearest hospital.”
With the Chief Minister of Punjab’s stroke/paralysis management program, stroke will no longer be fatal, as she has directed the relevant authorities to set up a network of stroke centers across Punjab. These centers will be set up in all district hospitals of Punjab in phases.
In Phase-I, 30 centers will be established; in Phase II, 15 while in Phase-III, the remaining 24 district hospitals will get stroke centers. She said that specialist neurologists and pediatric neurologists will be deployed in every district.
Maryam Nawaz directed the relevant authorities to keep CT scan machines operational at all times in every hospital of Punjab, and said that stroke management program will also be temporarily made available in Cardiology Institutes to save lives.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said that physicians will be hyper-trained under stroke management training, besides the provision of “TPA” and “TNK” injections for the purpose. She directed the authorities to provide injections and complete treatment training by mid-February. She said that reaching the hospital within four hours of stroke attack can save life-long disability, and also announced to launch effective awareness campaign to inform people about stroke/paralysis symptoms.
