Welfare-oriented: Expansion of Al-Khidmat hospital kicks off

Improvement works will result in a 100-bed hospital with modern facilities.

KARACHI: Development work for the extension of Al-Khidmat Hospital was initiated by the Al-Khidmat Foundation on Sunday. The hospital located in Orangi Town will be expanded into a 100-bed facility.

The former city mayor and patron of the foundation, Naimatullah Khan, told The Express Tribune that phase-III of the extension programme includes a medical and surgical ward for male patients which would turn it into a general hospital. The programme will also incorporate a neonatal intensive care unit, a pediatric ward and a diagnostic centre with facilities like a modern laboratory and blood bank.

The hospital, at present, consists of 20 beds, a 24-hour emergency section, basic diagnostic facilities and outpatient departments. The hospital also has an eye and dental care centre and a separate department for gynecology and obstetrics.

The hospital has been providing quality medical services on a ‘no-profit-no-loss’ basis to the residents of Orangi Town, Qasba Colony, Frontier Colony, Metroville (SITE) and Baldia Town since 1996, said Khan.

“The extension programme is a gift to the poverty-ridden people of Orangi and adjoining areas as they would be able to avail full-fledged medical services at the hospital after the completion of this project,” Khan said. He said that affluent people in the country should come forward and join hands with Al-Khidmat to help reduce the grievances of the depressed poor.

The former project director of the Al-Khidmat Hospital, Dr Faiyaz Alam, told The Express Tribune that the establishment of a hospital in Orangi Town serves as an example for other Al-Khidmat hospitals in areas like Nazimabad, Korangi and Shah Faisal Colony.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2012.