LAHORE: To overhaul the province`s healthcare delivery, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Friday announced the `hospital of the month` award to incentivise outstanding performance across public health facilities, while cracking down on negligence by ordering the immediate removal of four hospital medical superintendents.

Presiding over a video-link meeting, the chief minister rolled out a health reform roadmap, which includes upgrading 300 rural health centres into fully-equipped Maryam Nawaz Hospitals and launching a mass recruitment drive for 40,000 healthcare professionals.

Highlighting recent primary care achievements, Ms Nawaz noted that the province`s 911 Clinics on Wheels had already provided medical care to 30 million patients. To further modernise mobile healthcare, the meeting approved the introduction of firstof-its-kind digital medical boxes equipped with mobile-linked smart ultrasound devices. The compact single-system boxes will allow field staff to perform ultrasounds, ECGs, CBCs, and blood sugar tests onsite, alongside video teleconferencing with specialised doctors.

Addressing diagnostic gaps at the district level, the chief minister instructed authorities to procure new CT scan machines for every district and establish specialised telemedicine centres. These centres will allow patients to consult specialists via video calls, schedule ward or lab appointments, and secure direct hospital referrals.

She also ordered the immediate replacement of four medical superintendents (MS) for `poor performance and negligence`. Neither the names of the MS nor their hospitals were given in the statement.

Ms Nawaz also directed the creation of a dedicated doctor and MS emergency pool to respond swiftly to criticalhealth crises.

To ensure accountability, the government is introducing clinic quality control officers alongside a newlyestablished directorate of monitoring and surveillance under the primary healthcare department. The platform will maintain 24-hour digital monitoring across all DHQ and THQ hospitals, Maryam Nawaz Health Clinics, field hospitals, and mobile units.