LAHORE: Governor Malik Rafiq Rajwana says raising a voice for the solution to problems is a right of doctors but they should not forget their oath while refusing treatment to patients on the pretext of stril(e.

`If any life is lost during the strike in hospitals, the doctors will be answerable here and hereafter,` said the governor in his keynote speech at the second Sehat Khidmat Award distribution ceremony held for the best performing health professionals at a hotel on The Mall on Saturday.

Mr Rajwana said start of the Sehat Khidmat Award to recognise the services of doctors and allied healthcare staff would be helpful in resolving the issues and would also encourage all the employees to performtheir duties with more dedication.

Earlier, Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khwaja Salman Rafique said that due to new initiatives, routine immunisation coverage had reached from 50 to 88pc during the last two years.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Khwaja Imran Nazir said the provincial healthcare sector was not only catering to the needs and requirement of 120 million people of Punjab but also providing health facilities to the patients of other provinces.

`Thousands of patients daily visit public hospitals and benefit from free health facility. However, due to the individual cases, the whole health system should not be criticised,` he said.

The governor also visited the stalls set up by different health programmes for creating awareness and distributed Sehat Khidmat Awards among the best performers of the department.