Dispensary to be upgraded

The Rawalpindi District Health Authority will upgrade all the government dispensaries in the densely populated areas and convert them into 20 to 30 beds mini hospitals.

The mini hospitals will remain operational round the clock. In the first phase of the project, the dispensary of Union Council (UC) Rehmatabad has been upgraded and given the status of a 30-bed Mother and Child Hospital.

Federal Parliamentary Secretary Sheikh Rashid Shafiq will lay the foundation stone of this project was laid on Friday. The project will be completed at a cost of Rs65 million. Rehmatabad is the most densely populated area among rural areas of Rawalpindi district with a population of 3.5 million in its vicinity.

There was no government hospital in this entire area and this dispensary used to have only 2 beds. It was operational from 8am to 4pm, while after getting the status of a mini-hospital, the facility will remain opened throughout the day.

The Outpatient Department will be operational during office hours while a full-time medical in charge will be on duty. Lady doctors and paramedical staff will be appointed. Funds have been released for the project which is expected to be completed within the next six months.

Federal Parliamentary Secretary Anti-Narcotics Force Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, when contacted, said that all the dispensaries in densely populated areas would be upgraded to 20- to 30-bed mini hospitals for the convenience of the citizens. The patients will also be provided free medical facilities, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2022.