NICVD opens satellite centre in Mithi

Another centre will be opened in Khairpur this month, says institute's head

KARACHI: The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) has established its seventh state-of-the-art satellite centre in Sindh in collaboration with the provincial government. The new centre was inaugurated on Sunday in Mithi, Tharparkar.

Situated inside Civil Hospital, Mithi, the Shamsul Arfeen Memon Cardiac Centre will provide treatment to patients in the desert region free of charge.

Talking to the media at the inauguration ceremony, NICVD Executive Director Prof Nadeem Qamar said he felt great satisfaction over opening the satellite centre in Mithi.

"It is a matter of great pride that the NICVD in Mithi offers cardiac facilities of international standard and will provide high-quality healthcare services in collaboration with the government of Sindh for free," he said.



Prof Qamar added that the institute had brought both comprehensive diagnostic and treatment modalities to the people of rural Sindh. With the same state-of-the-art cardiac facilities, the NICVD has stepped into Tharparkar and it is offering cardiac emergency, interventional cardiology including angioplasty during heart attack, adult and paediatric cardiology, consulting clinics, echocardiography and critical care for the population of Thar and its peripheries, he said.



In the last year, the NICVD has established six state-of-the-art satellite centres, where patients are being provided cardiac facilities in accordance with the international standards, the NICVD executive director maintained. The NICVD centres in Larkana, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad, Sehwan, Sukkur and Nawabshah have been saving lives of patients, he added.

According to Prof Qamar, 1,256 procedures at the NICVD centre in Larkana, 1,070 in Tando Muhammad Khan, 714 in Hyderabad, 297 in Sehwan, 588 in Sukkur and 79 in Nawabshah had successfully been performed to treat heart patients since the inceptions of the satellite centres last year.



The NICVD executive director informed the media that preparations were under way to inaugurate another satellite centre in Khairpur. The centre will be made operational during this month, he said. Prof Qamar also thanked the Sindh government for its support to the institute.