The Punjab government has finally taken a ground-breaking initiative to cater to the treatment and rehabilitation needs of individuals affected by paralysis due to accidents and polio.
Immediately, modern paraplegic hospitals will become operational in five mega cities of the province including Lahore. In Lahore, the major paraplegic hospital, would be established in Samanabad on the pattern of Paraplegic Centre, Peshawar. The Lahore centre is likely to be operational in October this year, Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department sources told APP. In this connection, Punjab Healthcare Department additional Secretary Dr. Muhammad Younis had visited the Paraplegic Centre (PPC) at Hayatabad, Peshawar, along with a team of medical experts and other senior officials of Punjab Healthcare to establish such institutions in Lahore as well. Healthcare Department sources told media that paraplegic centres at five mega cities would be established with the facilities of various state of-the art departments, including medical, physiotherapy, nursing, occupational therapy, clubfoot home, speech language pathology and orthopedic workshop. Dr. Tehsin Riaz of Jinnah Hospital, welcoming the establishment of the centres, told media that paraplegic centers will providing free of cost comprehensive physical rehabilitation services including, skilled physiotherapy, speech language pathology, occupational therapy, psychological counseling, social support, orthotic management, recreational activities, provision of custom-made wheel-chairs, skills building, community re-integration, adoptive (supportive) equipment and follow-up services including minor home modifications, medical and nursing care of people with post-polio paralysis and children with clubfoot, post-traumatic spinal cord injuries, from Punjab, and the rest of the country. It may be noted that the Paraplegic Centre Peshawar is the largest and most modern institution for the treatment and rehabilitation of handicapped patients with spinal cord injuries and polio. Meanwhile, the establishment of Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centers was approved in the16th cabinet meeting, held under the chairmanship of the caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi at June 2, 2023, which approved measures for welfare of the general public in the province. The paraplegic centers will be established in Multan, Taunsa, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Wah, to provide rehabilitation services for paralysed patients. In the first phase, five paraplegic rehabilitation centers will be established, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including trans-spinal cord surgery. Following the directives of the CM Mohsin Naqvi, one central hub center and four satellite centers will be established in various locations across the province. The DHQ hospital in Multan will have a dedicated center to address the needs of accident-induced paralysis cases. It may be mentioned here that millions of people in Pakistan have different forms of disabilities or paralysis disorders. Yet, society and state institutions have remained largely oblivious to the needs of people with special needs, even though many of them could become productive.
