F.P. Report
KARACHI: Advisor to CM Sindh on Information, Law and Anticorruption Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that unlike federal government which is making healthcare unaffordable by increasing prices of medicines, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led Sindh government is providing quality healthcare facilities to masses near to their abodes which is evident from establishment of Satellite Centers and Chest Pain Units of National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in the province.
“Unlike federal government, which believes in making healthcare unaffordable by increasing prices of medicines, PPP-led Sindh government provided quality healthcare facilities to the people by establishing NICVD’s Satellite Centers in different major cities of Sindh as well as Chest Pain Units at different places in Karachi”, Barrister Murataza Wahab said while speaking at inauguration ceremony of 8th Chest Pain Unit of NICVD at Landhi no 3 ½ area here on Tuesday.
Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar, Executive Director NICVD Prof. Nadeem Qamar, Amin Hashwani, eminent cardiologist Prof. Nadeem Hassan Rizvi and other senior physicians and officials were also present on the occasion.
In the second phase of its Chest Pain Unit Program in Karachi, NICVD has established its 8th CPU in the Landhi area of the city to provide immediate relief and first aid in case of heart attack to the people of Landhi and adjoining areas so that their lives could be saved before they could reach to the main NICVD for further intervention, Murtaza Wahab explained and added that in a city of 20 million people where it takes hours in travelling from one place to other, these CPUs were a blessing for the Karachiites which saved thousands of lives during last one year.
“During last one year, seven Chest Pain Units of the NICVD saved over 5000 lives of people who were having heart attacks while over 150,000 people approached these CPUs who were given first aid and medical advice”, he said adding that NICVD was planning to establish eight more such CPUs in different places in the city so that more lives could be saved.
Murtaza Wahab maintained that after 18th amendment when NICVD was devolved to Sindh, provincial government expanded this facility to entire Sindh and now people were getting quality cardiac-care facilities closer to their homes. “Now instead of coming to Karachi, a resident of Ghotki goes to NICVD Sukkur for Angioplasty and bypass surgery, people living in and around Larkana avail cardiac treatment at their own city while people of Tharparkar avail quality cardiac treatment at Mithi instead of rushing to Karachi”, he informed.
Information Advisor claimed that when NICVD was devolved to the provincial government, its annual budget was merely Rs. 700 which has now been enhanced to Rs. 14 billion rupees by the provincial government, adding that NICVD had now become a model institution where people from entire Pakistan were coming to get treatment of their heart ailments.
To a query, Murtaza Wahab said NICVD’s network was being expanded outside Sindh and in this regard, first Satellite Center of the cardiac facility would be established at another province where land was being acquired for establishing the satellite center. “Announcement of the name of province where this satellite center to be established outside Sindh would be made by Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari”, he informed.
Responding to queries of the media persons, he said following the example of NICVD and Trauma Center, satellite centers of National Institute of Child Health (NICH) would also be established at different cities of Sindh to facilitate masses and provide them better health facilities.
Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar thanked the Sindh government and Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for expanding state-of-the-art cardiac care facilities in entire Karachi and rest of the province, saying KMC was also part of the process for establishing Chest Pain Units at different areas of Karachi. “These CPUs are saving thousands of precious lives by providing immediate relief to patients after heart attacks and we are proud to be part of this program”, he added.
“NICVD is one of the best healthcare facility in Pakistan and we standby NICVD. KMC would do whatever possible to support and expansion of this institution”, Waseem Akhtar announced.
Executive Director NICVD Prof. Nadeem Qamar said during last four years, NICVD had completely transformed into one of the best cardiac healthcare facilities of the world which treated over a million patients in a year, performed thousands of surgeries and angioplasties, carried out hundreds of complicated interventions and saved thousands of lives through its network spread over eight cities of the Sindh province.
“Now we are establishing 8th Chest Pain Unit of the NICVD while eight more such units would be installed in Karachi this year. Chest Pain Unit program of NICVD is a unique initiative which has saved over 5000 lives in a year and daily hundreds of patients visit these units for heart attack management”, he informed.
On the occasion, he thanked Sindh government for its continuous support to the NICVD and assured that they would continue serving people of Sindh and rest of the country by providing them state-of-the-art cardiac facilities and services.
