KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Information, Labour and Transport Nasir Hussain Shah said on Monday that the provincial government had made a huge investment in the health sector, which was evident from the `phenomenal performance` of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT).

`Our government is taking concrete steps to serve its citizens, which is evident from the best performance of the public sector institutions running here,` said Mr Shah while speaking at the inaugural session of the 53rd annual medical symposium at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Organised by the JPMC in its auditorium, the fourday symposium is themed onhealth promotion: innovation in medical care.

Organisers said as the field of science had progressed in technology, it had infiuenced medical profession from mobile phones and various applications to robotic surgeries, 1(idney transplants to head transplants, genomics to molecular therapies etc; the medical field was evolving.

They said the symposium was providing an opportunity to develop liaison among various fields for the promotion of health to provide innovative and best quality of services to all.

The minister said everyone in Sindh and elsewhere should be proud of the performance of the institutions such as the SIUT and the NICVD.

`We are taking practical steps to improve the health sector even further. Such endeavours have been appreciated by the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan as well during his recent visit of the JPMC in which he announced a cash award in recognition to the hospital`s services,` saidthe minister.

Following suit, Mr Shah announced Rs500,000 from him for the JPMC.

He said the chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party had given special directives to the provincial government for further improvement in the fields of health and education.

He promised that contractual employees of the JPMC would be regularised and issues relating to promotions would be resolved after the chief minister`s approval.

`We will extend all sorts of help and facilities to the hospital for improving its performance further,` said minister Shah.

He said hundreds of millions of rupees had been increased for hospitals to purchase medicines and improve their health delivery system.

He said the people of Sindh were proud to see three of the professors of the JPMC were bestowed with Tamgha-i-Imtiaz by the federal government for their excellent services in the field.

Sindh Health SecretaryFazlullah Pechuho said the provincial government was taking measures to provide the best possible services to its citizens.

He said the population of the province was on the rise, warranting more large hospitals and healthcare facilities in the province tocatertotheneeds of the rapidly increasing number of people.

`We are doing everything to fully support the JPMC and public-sector medical institutions,` said Dr Pechuho.

He appreciated the Patients` Aid Foundation and Child Aid for their support under the public-private partnership for CyberKnife facility, adding that the Sindh government would establish another CyberKnife project and pay its operational cost as well.

Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the JPMC, spoke on the performance of the hospital, theme of the symposium and issues concerning medical field.

Officials, professors, doctors, students and paramedics attended the event.