LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday directed the administration to make the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) fully functional and give free medical treatment to needy poor patients.
Speaking to media after the visit, the prime minister said he had came to know that 14 of the 20 units of the hospital were non-functional. He said the hospital which was built for the free medical treatment of poor people from all over Pakistan could give free treatment to only 17 percent patients last month.
He said while building the hospital in 2015, he announced about the free treatment to all citizens but unfortunately free treatment was given only till 2018 and then the hospital remained closed for two years.
He said Rs 20 billion was spent on the hospital and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) sent him to jail two times due to this project but could not prove corruption of even twenty rupees.
He said an attempt was made to destroy the hospital which was the project of PML-N. “The hospital was made for the poor people, mothers, children, women and elders.”
He said that he had visited the hospital in March 2018. He questioned PKLI staffers about the medical equipment procured with Rs90 million donations given during his tenure as chief minister. He sought recommendations from the physicians to bring improvements to the hospital.
The prime minister directed the hospital administration and Chief Secretary Punjab to make the hospital fully functional in the next 48 hours and brief him on the progress.
