Centre should emulate Sindh's healthcare system: Bilawal

JPMC gets modern Cyber Knife for free cancer treatment, upgrade of various wards

KARACHI:

Performance of the Sindh government is visible from its healthcare facilities, said Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday while inaugurating modern wards and Cyber Knife facility for cancer treatment at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

"We will take the prime minister on a tour of JPMC, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and National Institute of Child Health (NICH)," Bilawal said in a subtle remark to the Centre on transforming the federally administered hospitals to world-class health facilities.

Bilawal said that Sindh's public healthcare system can be presented as a model for all provinces. He suggested the federal government to hire Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Health Minister Azra Fazal Pechuho so that such institutions can be established in Lahore and other cities as well.

The PPP chairman said on this occasion that JPMC, NICVD, and NICH are the best health centres in Sindh and these institutions are a testament to the good governance of the province.

He stressed that negative news is published against Pakistan, but Sindh's health model and the performance of these institutions are the best answer. Bilawal said that the Sindh government has built the world's largest public sector cardiac care hospital in Karachi and free health facilities are being provided to children through NICH. He said that the treatment of cancer patients is being done free of cost through the latest Cyber Knife machine which is considered an expensive treatment worldwide.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also speaking on this occasion said that work is being done to improve the health system in Sindh through public-private partnership. He said that 100 beds are being added every year in Jinnah Hospital and the treatment of patients will now be faster and more efficient than before with the new Cyber Knife machine.

Finally, Bilawal Bhutto invited Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to visit the health centers of Sindh and said that he wanted such institutions to also be established in Punjab and Balochistan so that free and quality treatment facilities are available to the people there.