Patients with disability need special care, says NIRM chief

Dr Shaista says best services being offered at rehab centre despite limited resources

ISLAMABAD:

Patients with disability need special attention as compared to regular patients and parents of special children need to be convinced in this regard, National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) Executive Director Dr Shaista Habibullah has said.

“The NIRM is offering special courses for children’s speech therapy,” the NIRM executive director said and added that the institute was providing excellent medical facilities despite limited resources.

In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Dr Habibullah said that the orthopaedic, eye, ENT, physiotherapy and speech therapy departments were functional in the NIRM.

“There is a plan to start a research and development department in the institution which will enable research and data collection related to disability,” she said.

She said measures were being taken regarding access to the WHO library.

“According to international research, 15 per cent of the population suffers from a disability. However, the rate of disability is not known in Pakistan as a five to seven per cent disability rate is often reported here,” she claimed.

Dr Habibullah went on to say: “in our country, a person who is unable to walk and earn is considered to have a disability, however, at the international level, any child who needs more health care than other children of the same age is considered disabled.”

She further said that there was a shortage of staff in NIRM but better medical facilities were being provided even with the limited staff.

“A requisition was sent to the Federal Public Service Commission for recruitment on the posts of ENT, pathologist and radiologist technicians and the induction process is in progress,” she said.

The NIRM is also facing a financial deficit mainly due to the increase in the value of the US dollar, which has led to an uncertain increase in expenditure, due to which the organisation is facing a budget shortfall.

She said that there has been an increase in other expenses, including the repair of machines, but still, all possible facilities were being provided to the patients.

In response to a question, she said that the disability certificate is issued by the National Commission for Rehabilitation of Special People of Pakistan, but the composition of the board consists of NIRM experts.

All relevant tests of any patient are conducted by NIRM, after which the case is sent to the board, she added.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2023.