LAHORE  -  Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique on Monday chaired a meeting at the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department regarding the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program. The meeting was attended by Punjab Health Secretary Azmat Mahmood Khan, Professor Farqad Alamgir, Special Secretary Development Syed Wajid Ali Shah, Special Secretary Operations Tariq Mahmood, Additional Secretary Technical Dr Muhammad Waseem and Additional Secretary Dr Waheed. Vice Chancellor University of Child Health Sciences Professor Masood Sadiq, CEO Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr Ali Razaq and representatives of Punjab Information Technology Board participated through video link. Major General (retd) Dr Azhar Mahmood Kiani also attended the meeting through video link. Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique reviewed the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program in detail during the meeting. PITB gave a briefing in this regard. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that Alhamdulillah, since the launch, 800 innocent children have undergone successful surgeries under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme.  The scope of the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme is being expanded. Under this programme, the waiting list for surgeries of innocent children has clearly reduced, he said and added that before this programme, parents of innocent children were waiting for months according to the waiting list for surgeries, and under the programme, the capacity of children’s hospitals in Punjab is also being increased. The minister said continuous monitoring of the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program is going on through an online live dashboard, adding that the Punjab government has made the entire system of the Children’s Heart Surgery Programme very transparent. The meeting also approved medical equipment for 6 government children’s hospitals for the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program.