Punjab provides 500 vials of anti-snake venom to PGIMER: Jayani

Chandigarh, August 6, 2014: The Punjab Health and Family Welfare Department, Punjab today provided 500 vials of Anti-snake venom to the PGIMER Chandigarh on the request made by the Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh. Disclosing this here today Surjeet Kumar Jayani, Health & Family Welfare Minister, Punjab said that PGI Chandigarh had been facing a shortage of Anti-snake venom for the past some time. He said that Anti-snake venom is a life saving serum for the cases of snake bites.
Minister Jayani said that the Punjab Health Systems Corporation a nodal procurement agency for providing essential medicines and consumables
in the hospitals in Punjab had a sufficient stock of anti snake venom, which proves to be a blessing for the snake bite victims being reported at PGI. He said that during the monsoon season the number of cases of snake bite raises manifold, the demand of anti-snake venom also rises sharply. On the request of PGI, Chandigarh, the Health Minister has immediately directed the PHSC authorities to dispatch 500 vials to PGI, Chandigarh so that precious lives could be saved.
Jayani said that Punjab Health Systems Corporation has streamlined the drug procurement and distribution system which has resulted in maintaining adequate stocks of such crucial life-saving drugs and other essential medicines in case of any emergency. The Health Minister said that Health Deartment has established a state-of-the-art online inventory management and monitoring system of drug procurement,  storage and supply which is linked with 3 regional drug warehouses at Verka (Amritsar), Bathinda and Kharar and the state headquarter which is supervised by the central Quality Control Cell.
Husan Lal MD PHSC further elaborating said that Punjab Health Systems Corporation is  providing 235 types of essential medicines free of cost, besides 40 items of consumables and 19 items of suture material in all Government hospitals. He added that apart from these, another 44 types of medicines and 12 types of consumables are being provided to various hospitals under Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram.