Maryam Nawaz makes body cameras mandatory for Punjab hospital staff
Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz ordered mandatory body cameras for hospital staff, banned mobile phone use during duty, and announced reforms to improve transparency, hygiene, and medicine supply.
LAHORE (Web Desk) - Acting on public complaints about government hospitals, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Friday made it mandatory for hospital staff to wear body cameras to ensure transparency and accountability.
Presiding over a meeting on provincial health projects, the chief minister said that nurses, ward boys, security guards, and pharmacy staff would be required to wear body cams during duty hours. She added that public hospital administrations must ensure comprehensive daily steam cleaning of facilities by 9am.
CM Maryam also ordered a complete ban on the use of mobile phones by doctors and nurses during duty hours, stressing that patient care must remain the top priority.
To strengthen hospital management, the meeting approved the creation of a Medical Superintendent (MS) pool, with salary increments linked directly to performance. Community health inspectors were assigned the responsibility of conducting hospital surveys to monitor service delivery.
The chief minister further directed the establishment of a data analysis centre to assess the impact and effectiveness of public welfare initiatives in the health sector.
She also instructed authorities to prepare a revised medicines list for government hospitals and develop a foolproof mechanism to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential drugs. A special committee was ordered to finalise the updated list.
Expressing concern over reports of medicine shortages, CM Maryam noted that Rs80 billion was being spent on medicines and said any failure in reaching patients was unacceptable.
The meeting also reviewed proposals to modernise public hospitals, including the possible use of Chinese-manufactured medical equipment. It was informed that more than 2,500 doctors had been recruited over the past two years, while 585,000 patients had been registered for home delivery of cardiac medicines. Doorstep delivery has already been completed for 6,000 hepatitis and tuberculosis patients.
The chief minister warned that wastage of public funds and citizens’ time would no longer be tolerated, adding that inefficiency and negligence in public hospitals would not be accepted.
