The development works on mega projects initiated during the PML-N era have once again been expedited as soon as the new regime assumed office.
After the inauguration of the Metro Bus Project between Peshawar Morr and Islamabad International Airport on Monday, orders have also been issued to make the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant (RIUT) functional by the end of this month or in the first week of May.
The cornerstone of the project was laid by Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif as the Chief Minister of Punjab in 2012. Now, he will inaugurate the project as the country’s prime minister.
RIUT Project Director Dr Zainul Amir has already started preparations to make the Emergency, OPD and Dialysis Unit of RIUT functional within 15 days. However, it will take some time to make the
Department of Kidney Transplant operational, he said, adding that the facility will provide free of cost kidney transplantation for patients with renal complications.
READ RIUT will soon see the light of day, says official
Around 98 per cent of the civil work of the RIUT building has been completed during the past two years and its premises have been used as the main treatment center for Covid-19. After the end of the fifth wave of coronavirus and the change of government, it has been decided to make this project functional.
The procurement of essential equipment worth Rs1.10 billion is underway. A budget request for the human resources comprising 1,000 employees, including doctors, nurses, technical staff and support staff, has been sent to Specialised Healthcare Unit Punjab, said Amir, adding that its approval is now pending with the Finance Department. The installation of the necessary equipment in the building is also in progress.
The hospital building consists of a 265-bed facility. Since RIUT premises have been vacant for six years, it has to undergo some maintenance and renovation at a cost of Rs20 million.
Dr Amir said that due to increasing cases of kidney disease, treatment facilities available at the urology department of Benazir Bhutto General Hospital (BBGH) are unable to accommodate all the patients. The rush of patients at BBGH has increased so much that patients often have to wait three to six months for treatment.
A large number of people in Punjab are unable to get a kidney transplant from the private sector as it costs around Rs3-4 million. In addition, many patients are not even able to get routine dialysis for themselves due to the limited availability of dialysis machines in government hospitals. Consequently, poor and low-income patients often have to wait long for treatment.
It is lamentable that RIUT has been under construction for the last nine years. The project has undergone two revised costs and its cost estimate has increased from Rs3.20 billion to Rs4 billion. Despite increasing the project’s cost, the health facility could not start even partial functioning on its last deadline of May 15, 2018.
The initial cost of RIUT building has gone up from Rs3.20 billion to Rs3.80 billion and now for the third time, it has increased to Rs4 billion. The hospital will have a 30-machine dialysis centre, while five state-of-the-art modular operating theaters and one more operating theater will also be part of the public health facility.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2022.
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