Cash-strapped: At PIMS, ambitious plans don’t have wings to take off

Most projects have been on hold for years.


Sehrish Wasif April 27, 2014
Most projects have been on hold for years. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:


The country’s largest public-sector referral hospital, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has treated millions of patients since its inception in 1985, but most plans for its expansion and upgradation remain on the drawing board.


A number of mega projects announced for the hospital have yet to take off because of a delay in the release of funds. Financial crunch and scarcity of medical staff is hindering service delivery, according to Prof. Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University (SZABU) Vice Chancellor Javed Akram.

“Delay in the release of funds and a cut in the hospital’s annual budget have made it difficult to revamp its infrastructure.”

In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Prof. Akram said on average 1,100 patients visit the hospital’s emergency department every day, while another 3,000 visit various out-patient departments.

“Day by day, an increase in patient load in addition to incidents like bomb blasts, road accidents and natural calamities which claim multiple casualties, are straining our resources. It’s challenging to run the hospital on an annual budget of Rs3 billion and a shortage of 230 medical staffers.” Most diagnostic machines at Pims are 20 years old and need to be immediately repaired or replaced, he added.

“Now that the hospital has been given the status of a university, the government is supposed to release Rs50 million according to the SZABU Act, but not a single penny has been given so far. We do not have funds to advertise for vacant posts for the medical university or pay their salaries.” A Rs1.28 billion annual budget for the university has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance, he stated.

SZABU administration is waiting to get possession of six acres in Chak Shahzad to construct a medical university, he said. “We’re also planning to establish a school of dentistry for which a proposal is ready to be submitted.” Prof. Akram said once the university opens its doors, it will start generating its own funds, particularly through research and development in the field of medicine.

Pending projects

The medical tower project was conceived in 2007 to promote health tourism. The 16-storey multi-billion-rupee tower was to have 625 beds and 12 operation theatres and provide the latest medical facilities under one roof.

We have the land but lack the funds to construct it. We’ll consider public-private partnership or a grant or soft loan to build the tower, said Prof. Akram. The hospital administration is also planning to build a separate building for the Liver Transplant Centre.

Security

Considering the current law and order situation, there is a need to improve the hospital’s security, which is outsourced at present, he said. “We will soon replace them with 150 in-house security guards trained by a law enforcement agency. Some 520 points have been identified where CCTV cameras will be installed, for which a tender has been floated.”

Sexual harassment laws at the workplace will be implemented at Pims to provide a secure working environment to female colleagues who make up 35 per cent of the hospital staff, according to Prof. Akram.

Additional facilities

Some philanthropists known as Friends of Pims will construct a building for out-of-town attendants. They have already started providing free meals to the attendants and helped finance an extension of the surgical emergency ward.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2014.

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