MoU signed for better facilities at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital

City administrator says support of private sector is being sought

KARACHI:

Karachi Administrator Laeeq Ahmed said on Thursday that all possible steps were being taken to provide better medical facilities to citizens. "Arrangements are being made to ensure that necessary and sensitive areas have the services of expert and experienced staff," said Ahmed as the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the Karachi Institute of Kidney Diseases Association signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday.

"Support of the private sector is sought to ensure the constant availability of modern equipment and machinery in hospitals, '' he said.

The MoU was signed between Dr Abdul Hameed Jamani and Nawab Masood on behalf of their respective organisations. Ahmed said that the KMC is taking measures for making CT scan machines and other departments useful for patients at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. He said that this is another major breakthrough in the provision of medical facilities in Karachi, which will provide better treatment facilities to the poor and middle class.

The administrator said that under this agreement KMC and KIKDA will jointly activate CT scan machine in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, which was nonfunctional for a long time. KIKDA will provide technical and other necessary support, including the services of professional technicians and consultants and the payment of their remuneration. Apart from emergency and accident cases, this facility will be available to indoor and outdoor patients at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where all the expenses incurred will be borne by the private sector while patients can be referred to other government hospitals with the consultation if required.

The CT scan facility will be provided free of cost to the patients at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and they will not have to pay any fee. Ahmed said that the CT scan department would provide uninterrupted power supply and necessary funds for repair of the machine will also be provided.

At present, the contract period is one year, which may be expanded further by mutual consent. The administrator said that Abbasi Shaheed Hospital provides emergency medical aid to a large part of the city in case of emergency and a large number of patients come here daily for diagnosis and treatment. All facilities are also provided to patients undergoing treatment.

"Patients injured in various accidents need a CT scan for which the department must be active, especially in a situation where it is necessary to perform an immediate CT scan to save the patient's life," he added. He said that the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital will be equipped with this important and highly sensitive facility as soon as possible for which the Karachi Institute of Kidney Diseases Association was contacted and we are grateful for their cooperation. Ahmed that with the installation of machines and equipment in medical institutions, their maintenance on a regular basis is also necessary as hospitals may need these machines at any time."Every effort is being made to provide such facilities in all the medical institutions run by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, including Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, so that the quality of these institutions can be improved," the administrator said. He said that along with improving the basic infrastructure of the city, the process of upgrading the medical institutions is also underway for which cooperation and consultation has been sought from the civil society and welfare institutions and this will continue in the future as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2021.