LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has termed `Prime Minister National Health Programme` a `political stunt` while issuing a report on the Punjab government`s performance in the health sector.

At least 43.2 million people in Punjab lack access to basic health facilities as about 20pc of Punjabis are patients of hypertension and 15pc of diabetes, a major cause of kidney problems, said PTI Punjab organiser Chaudhry Sarwar while issuing the report here on Friday. However, the report didnot mention the source(s) of the data.

The PTI leader said kidney treatment machines were out of order in approximately 80pc hospitals of the province and there was also a severe shortage of oncolo-gists in the state-run hospitals.

He lamented that not a single MRI scanner was available in one of the largest hospitals of Asia, the Mayo Hospital.

Mr Sarwar claimed that only 10pc patients got free medicines while out of total 2,450 basic health units, 50pc were dysfunctional due to lack of facilities.

He rejected the PM`s national health scheme, calling it a political stunt claiming that 231,400 children were dying every year due to lack of facilities and incompetence and illegibility of the government.

`(Unidentified) report states that infant mortality rate in Punjab is 77 per 1,000 children while the maternal mortality rate is 300 per 100,000 births.

Thirty district headquarters hospitals in Punjab had no facilities for cancer patients, Sarwar said and advised the government to fill vacancies of doctors in the hospitals instead of initiating new health programmes.