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Dr Rab inaugurates

100-bed extension

of govt hospital

KARACHI: A 100-bed expansion project of the 200-bed Sindh Government Hospital, Korangi No 5 was formally inaugurated by Sindh Health Minister Prof S M Rab here on Thursday.

Inaugurating the new 100-bed expanded wing of the hospital, which would benefit a population of about 2 million, the minister said it was a matter of delight that a small dispensary which started functioning 30 years back, had today grown into a 200-bed hospital for which the hospital staff, doctors and other personnel deserve felicitations.

He observed that if today this hospital has grown up from a dispensary, it can further progress in future and become part of a medical college.

He pointed out that institutions were made by human beings and not (not) material and as they progress, the expectations of people also rise gradually.

Dr Rab said he felt anguish when he read about news of raid on an institution. He said it was regrettable when people, who should have been on duty and for which they were paid, were not found on duty.

Outlining his priorities and expectations, the minister said every hospital should have an emergency service so that emergency medical aid was made available to every needy person.

He said his other priority concerns were quality maintenance on scientific lines and quality education. He said a student whether he belonged to medical or para medical field must excel in his field which certainly needed hard work to achieve.

The minister said that if there is resource constraint, one should ensure that leakage was plugged. He said the knowledge attained must be used to build-up the image of Pakistan, whether it was in the field of research or development.

Rab informed the gathering that the government could provide better and cheaper medical facilities only when people would pay due taxes or philanthropists play their due role and join hands with the government in the provision of better medical facilities.

Speaking about the social imbalances, the minister emphasised the need for medical auditing in every government hospital. He said it would be unjust if some funds were allocated for meeting the medical needs of poor people but the same were utilised by the influential ones.

He said it was also unjust if a person was kept in a hospital for four days and another person suffering from similar disease was entertained for one month.

"It is work of medical audit to see why there should be discrimination".

He called for enhanced research activities and said this process must be a sustainable one and commensurate with modern requirements and needs.

Rab asked the medical superintendent of the hospital to come to him in case of problems and he would try to solve the same.

Earlier, the Medical Superintendent Incharge Dr Wahid Rajput gave a detailed report about the hospital and called for its affiliation with some teaching institution and arrangement for imparting of different types of training.

Speaking on the occasion Health Deputy Director Capt Abdul Majid described Prof Rab as a person of international stature and said in a brief period his services for Health Department were commendable.

He said the minister had directed him for granting affiliation to four Karachi hospitals with Dow and Sindh Medical Colleges.

The minister appreciated the efforts of Dr Wahid Rajput and Dr S M Khalid in bringing improvement in various departments of the hospital.ÑAPP