RAWALPINDI: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s free medicine home delivery project has hit a major setback, causing inconvenience to patients across the province.
The Punjab government had expanded the free medicine home delivery project to cover all cities, aiming to deliver medicines to 200,000 patients at their doorstep.
Under this initiative, patients suffering from Hepatitis, Tuberculosis (TB), and cardiac diseases were to receive a two-month stock of medicines, with further supplies provided after follow-up checkups.
However, according to sources, Punjab’s free home medicine delivery project is currently on hold, leaving many patients, especially those in remote areas, struggling to access essential medicines.
The delay is reportedly due to the termination of the Punjab government’s contract with the courier company TCS. Authorities are now in the final stages of signing a new agreement with Pakistan Postal Services to resume deliveries.
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An official from the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC), speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that free medicine deliveries are expected to resume soon once the new contract is finalised.
In the meantime, long queues have been observed at Punjab’s major government hospitals, such as Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) and the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), as patients are forced to collect their medicines in person.
Several patients expressed frustration, saying they were not informed in advance about Punjab’s suspension of free medicine home deliveries. “The free medicine initiative is a great step by the Punjab government, but they should have at least informed us about the delay,” a patient remarked.
The Punjab government is expected to announce the resumption of the service once the new delivery system is in place.