Polyclinic: Extension project to start soon

Argentine ambassador calls on CADD minister

ISLAMABAD: Work on the extension of the Federal Government Services Hospital, popularly known as Polyclinic, will start soon.

An amount of Rs55.4 million has been allocated for the purpose, the hospital’s executive director, Dr Zahid Iqbal, told APP on Monday.

He said authorities had written a letter to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to transfer the land for the proposed expansion.

Iqbal said postgraduate classes at the nursing school of the hospital would also start next year as the PC-1 for the project had been approved.

He that the nursing school had acquired its own spacious building with proper setup needed to offer nursing courses.

“We plan to start postgraduate classes from next year,” he remarked.

He added that the nursing school was the only institute in the federal capital offering courses and diplomas free-of-cost.

The executive director said they were not charging any tuition fee for the current graduate nursing courses adding that the postgraduate classes would be run on the same pattern next year.

Zahid said a joint coordination committee was being constituted to help review and introduce a uniform curriculum at nursing schools established at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Polyclinic.

Meanwhile, Ambassador of Argentina Rodolfo Martin Saravia called on Barrister Usman Ibrahim, the minister of state of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) to discuss the hospital’s extension.

The ambassador expressed hope that the hospital will be a living symbol of the friendship between Pakistan and Argentina.

Ibrahim explained that after permission from the cabinet, a feasibility study will be carried out.

The new hospital will be a 1,000-bed facility, he added.

The meeting was attended by senators Kalsoom Parveen, Saher Kamran, along with officials of CADD and Polyclinic.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2015.