PTI govt releases Rs1.29b for PIMS projects

Funds will be used for 12 upgrade and procurement schemes

ISLAMABAD: To spur work on a dozen pending projects at the largest tertiary care hospital in the federal capital, the government on Wednesday released over a billion rupees.

The federal government had allocated Rs1.86 billion for development works at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in the budget for the fiscal year 2019-20. Of this, Rs1.29 billion were released on Wednesday.

The money will be used for procuring new machines, upgrading different departments and improving healthcare services.

A sum of Rs20.2 million has been earmarked for setting up a nursing hostel at Pims. A further Rs8.13 million for upgrading the endoscopy diagnostic service. A further Rs41.3 million are required for installing a medical waste treatment plant at the hospital.

Moreover, Rs30.4 million have been allocated for equipping the hospital’s mortuary with a new refrigerator, while almost Rs60 million will be required for purchasing equipment for the NTN department. A further Rs60 million will be required to upgrade the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The hospital’s administration has also earmarked a budget of Rs316.7 million for purchasing new magnetic resonance imagery (MRI) machine, while Rs545 million have been earmarked for upgrading the hospital’s entire heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.

A further Rs33.581 million will be used for improving the ICU at the Mother and Child Health (MCH) centre.

To upgrade the gastroenterology and nephrology departments, the Pims administration has earmarked sums of Rs30.18 million and Rs40 million respectively.

To improve other health facilities at the hospital, a sum of Rs100.5 million has been allocated.

Capital’s first healthcare regulatory body formed

The first every healthcare regulatory body for the federal capital has been formed and the health officials of the country have tasked it with creating a regulatory framework to improve the quality of health services provided in the country.

The board of the newly-formed Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) met at the federal health ministry on Wednesday with the board’s chairman Dr Fazle Hadi. The board also met with the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health (SAPM) Dr Zafar Mirza.

During their meeting, Dr Mirza pointed out that Islamabad lacks a regulatory mechanism for the healthcare sector and is thus lagging in this field.

He added that the establishment of the authority comes at a critical juncture when the government is implementing major reforms in the health sector.

“It is indeed a great opportunity for the authority to establish quality standards in healthcare,” Dr Mirza said. He reminded members of the authority’s’ board that the body is mandated to provide quality healthcare services, by implementing quality standards in the healthcare sector through a regulatory framework.

“This [regulatory framework] will ensure the provision of quality healthcare services through registration, inspections and licencing,” Dr Mirza said, adding that the authority must also work to promote patient safety and develop mechanisms for banning quackery in all its forms and manifestations.

The framework must also have provisions to redress complaints and grievances, he added.

Dr Hadi assured the SAPM that the board will prove equal to the challenging and critical task assigned. He called upon members of the authority to work diligently and conscientiously while using powers vested in the board with discretion and caution so as not to disrupt the system but bring improvement.

The meeting, after thorough deliberations, decided to issue advertisements for appointing the chief executive officer (CEO) of the authority, decide on its organogram and budget. 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2019.