Poor state: Polyclinic lacks facilities to carry out heart surgery

NA told resource centre for autistic children established in capital.

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that the Federal Government Services Hospital, popularly known as Polyclinic, lacks the facility to carry out invasive cardiac surgery.

Capital Administration and Development Division Minister of State Usman Ibrahim said the hospital was only equipped to conduct non-invasive procedures, adding patients requiring cardiac surgery are referred to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for treatment.

Ibrahim said there were only six physicians and five medical officers working in the cardiology department of the hospital.

The minister said that around 10 surgeries are carried out every day at the cardiac centre at Pims.

He said that the Directorate General of Special Education had established a resource centre for autistic children in the capital, adding that 24 autistic children were studying at the centre and the facility would be extended to accommodate a total of 100 students in the future.

The minister shared that he had visited the centre being run by an NGO and a comprehensive master training programme for teachers there was being prepared, in collaboration with the organisation.

He informed that the government was planning to upgrade the National Special Education Centre for Hearing Impaired Children in H-9/4 from higher secondary to graduate level, and 65-70 children with hearing disability would be facilitated every year with the up-gradation.

The minister said that two students with disabilities of the DGSE were visiting Los Angeles, USA to participate in the Special Olympics.

Ibrahim said that the ministry was continuously approaching ministries/divisions at the federal level to ensure implementation of mandatory disability quota in employment.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2015.