CM “Maryam Masihai Program” Launched In Lahore For Heart Patient
Last updated on July 30th, 2025 at 11:46 am
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced the “Maryam Masihai Program” to treat and look after the overall health requirements of heart patients, an important move within the possibilities of health care services in Punjab. It is one more step by the government of Punjab to produce a better public health situation along with genuine healthcare facilities for all its inhabitants. It aims to address the multiplying concerns of cardiac diseases, among other things, which have emerged as one of the primary causes of disease and death in Pakistan.
Background to the Program
The present situation is that CVDs are a global health concern for an individual as it is in Pakistan. The heart-related illnesses are increasing day by day hence, there is a need for a more efficient healthcare delivery system to be taken into consideration. For this reason, the Maryam Masihai Program aimed at delivering specialty care and support to patients suffering from heart disease all over the Punjab. Targeting early detection, treatment, and reintegration of patients in mainstream society would help to relieve the burden of heart diseases in the region.
دل کی بیماریاں (CVDs) دنیا بھر سمیت پاکستان میں ایک سنگین مسئلہ بنتی جا رہی ہیں۔ اسی ضرورت کو مدنظر رکھتے ہوئے مریم مسیحائی پروگرام پنجاب بھر میں دل کے مریضوں کو خصوصی طبی سہولیات فراہم کرنے کے لیے شروع کیا گیا ہے۔ یہ پروگرام ابتدائی تشخیص، مؤثر علاج اور مریضوں کو معاشرے میں دوبارہ ضم کرنے پر مرکوز ہے، تاکہ صحت عامہ کے نظام کو بہتر بنایا جا سکے۔ اس اقدام کا مقصد دل کی بیماریوں کے بوجھ کو کم کرنا اور مریضوں کو بروقت اور معیاری علاج فراہم کرنا ہے، جو ایک موثر صحت عامہ کی ضرورت ہے۔
Maryam Masihai Program Objectives
The main objectives are:
- Providing Accessible Health Care: All the medical services required for treating heart patients should be accessible to them easily without creating any kind of financial burden on them.
- Early Detection and Treatment: Disseminate information regarding diseases, which would lead to early diagnoses through frequent health camps and screening exercises.
- Rehabilitation of Patient: The recovering patient with heart disease should be given rehabilitation services through physical therapy and lifestyle management programs.
- Public Awareness Campaigns: Socialize the public to be aware of health, what measures to be taken in advance, and constant check-up essentials.
Key Features Of the Program:
The Maryam Masihai Program launched by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, will cater to the provision of critical medical care to the children who suffer from heart diseases in Punjab. This will not compromise the right of any child, regarding her treatment, due to any financial factor or non-availability of the medical facilities.
Key Features of it:
- Target Group: The main focus of it has always been on children with heart disorders. It has stepped forward to ensure all the child patients who need the operations and their treatments receive holistic medical care.
- Free Medical Care: One of the most prominent features of the program is that it offers free medical attention to children who suffer from heart problems. Included in this are also consultations as well as necessary surgery. Many families would find a surgical procedure to be expensive.
- Child Surgery Card: The program introduces the Child Surgery Card that stands at the problem of a card to hold the key to free heart surgeries for worthy children. By the way, it also introduces them to both government and private hospitals so in case the former types are full, patients can even get to the latter ones.
- Access to Public and Private Hospitals: Maryam Masihai Program will provide children with access to public and private hospitals scattered throughout all the districts of Punjab. This dual accessible scheme would ensure proper and timely treatment of children with no problem of free space in government hospitals.
The Scheme shall have two phases
- Phase 1: It comprises six major hospitals – including Punjab Institute of Cardiology, and Children Hospital Lahore. The surgeries free of cost will be conducted.
- Phase 2: In this phase, more hospitals in smaller cities such as Wazirabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, and Sargodha will be added to the cm scheme, hence increasing the coverage of the service so that more children may have these services.
- Diagnostic Services: Such will encompass all of the following, comprehensive diagnostic services for any child that is suspected to have heart conditions, these will include every major and critical test, including echocardiograms and ECGs, for accurate diagnosis and treatment planning.
How to Apply for Maryam Masihai Program
- Visit Participating Hospitals: Families shall first visit one of the participating hospitals under it. This list includes some major hospitals, among which are:
Punjab Institute of Cardiology
- Rawalpindi Cardiology Institute:This would be after consulting with the healthcare providers at these hospitals when their children arrive. The medical staff will examine them and then decide if they qualify for the program.
- Application for Child Surgery Card: If the child is diagnosed with heart disease, then an application procedure for it will be done. It is important as it allows children to get free surgeries in case of heart disease.
Needed Documents: Some documentation may be necessary, like:
- Child’s birth certificate, or CNIC if applicable
- Reports relating to heart disease
- Identity proofing of the caregivers or parents
- Child Surgery Card: When space is not available at government medical institutions, It would then be issued to the family for access to free surgeries in both public and private hospitals.
- Follow-Up Appointments: The family should go and see a child regularly for the required follow-up treatment check-up with their healthcare providers to ensure early observation of conditions.
مریم مسیحائی پروگرام کے لیے درخواست دینے کے لیے مریض کے اہل خانہ کو کسی قریبی سرکاری اسپتال جانا ہوگا، جیسے پنجاب انسٹی ٹیوٹ آف کارڈیالوجی یا راولپنڈی کارڈیالوجی انسٹی ٹیوٹ۔ وہاں ڈاکٹروں کا معائنہ ہوگا اور اگر بچے میں دل کی بیماری کی تشخیص ہو تو اسے چائلڈ سرجری کارڈ دیا جائے گا، جس سے وہ سرکاری یا نجی اسپتال میں مفت علاج حاصل کر سکے گا۔ درخواست کے لیے بچے کی میڈیکل رپورٹس، برتھ سرٹیفکیٹ یا شناختی کارڈ اور والدین کی شناخت ضروری ہوگی۔ بعد میں بچے کا باقاعدہ طبی معائنہ بھی کروانا ہوگا۔
Punjab Heart Patients to Get Better Treatments
Maryam Nawaz assures Improved treatments for Patients
She reviewed the dashboard monitoring system along with a visit to the chief minister for the cardiac ward, DHU, and other departments of hospitals. She talked about care with their parents, played along with the kids, distributed candies, and prayed for their good health. She repeatedly stated that “she is dedicated to making surgical teams strong and ensuring specialized medical care access for all so that high-quality healthcare reaches everyone”.
General Awareness of Eligibility
- Focus: The Maryam Masihai Program primarily targets children within Punjab suffering from conditions. This focus shows that the Program is specifically reserved for those residing in Punjab only, and the main aim is to get optimum usage of the available local resources and facilities in that region.
- Health initiatives between provinces: In Pakistan, the criteria for entry into health are mostly residential-based. They may need to be relocated to similar alternate initiatives being operated in their respective province by families that stay in other provinces. This can be sought through consultation with local authorities regarding potential partnerships or patient arrangements from outside the province of Punjab.
- Emergency Cases: In serious cases wherein children from other provinces needed emergency heart surgery, the same was offered by any local hospital in case it was not available. It did not matter to the hospital if the patient belonged to the province or not.
Expected Outcome
It would achieve the following desired objectives:
- It will help to cut the mortality rate from heart diseases in Punjab as it will encourage early detection and proper treatment of this deadliest disease.
- A stipulated example of the consequence expected in achieving and maintaining an improvement in quality of life as a result of receiving timely interventions includes the expected better health outcomes.
- A healthy lifestyle among the communities usually comes as a result of increased public awareness.
یہ پروگرام پنجاب میں دل کی بیماریوں سے اموات کی شرح کم کرنے میں مدد دے گا، کیونکہ یہ ابتدائی تشخیص اور بروقت علاج کو فروغ دیتا ہے۔ بروقت طبی مداخلت سے مریضوں کی زندگی کے معیار میں بہتری آئے گی اور صحت کے بہتر نتائج متوقع ہیں۔ مزید برآں، عوامی آگاہی میں اضافے کے ذریعے صحت مند طرز زندگی کو فروغ دیا جائے گا، جس سے معاشرے میں مجموعی طور پر بیماریوں سے بچاؤ ممکن ہوگا۔ یہ اقدام صحت عامہ کے نظام میں ایک مثبت تبدیلی لانے میں معاون ثابت ہوگا۔
Conclusion
Such an initiative in the form of the Maryam Masihai Program for Punjab is just what is needed for a larger solution to cardiovascular health issues. It provides medical services that are individually tailored for heart patients, thereby saving lives while providing a healthier community. Strong implementation strategies, engaging with the community, and ongoing evaluation will be influential in effectively combating the tidal wave of heart diseases in Pakistan.
