A high-level meeting of the Health Department held here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister (PM) Chaudhry Anwar Ul Haq

Addressing the meeting, the PM  directed the Health Department authorities to implement biometric attendance system in all hospitals across Azad Kashmir.”All possible steps should be taken to provide the best treatment facilities to masses at government hospitals and effective working procedures should be developed to meet basic needs in all district headquarters hospitals”, he said, adding that the Health Department should take steps to purchase state-of-the-art ambulances.He said that the rules and procedures should be simplified for the convenience of the public.He also directed the concerned authorities to make necessary amendments to ensure timely arrangements for medical treatment and prompt payment of expenses under Medical Attendant Rules for government employees.He said that procedures should be adopted to pay for the expenses incurred on treatment within seven days.He said that the procedure of refund for treatment abroad should also be simplified and no file should be sent for the approval of the Prime Minister, but the concerned secretary should approve it.He directed that the panel of hospitals should be notified and the payment of all the expenses should be made with the approval of the secretary of the department.He said that abolishing the 20% deduction in the case of private treatment should also be reviewed.It was decided that CT scan and MRI facilities would be provided in all district headquarters hospitals (DHQs) across the Azad Kashmir. Earlier, the Health Secretary gave a detailed briefing to the Prime Minister  about the department.The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary General Ehsan Khalid Kayani, Additional Chief Secretary Development Fayaz Ali Abbasi, Secretary Finance Ismatullah Shah, Secretary Health Major General Zaheer Akhtar, Director General Health Dr. Sardar Aftab Hasan Khan and others.