KARACHI, Nov 23: The Civil Hospital Karachi will shortly begin work on the radiology department under a private-public partnership programme.
CHK officials told Dawn on Saturday that in collaboration with the Poor Patient Aid Society the hospital would start renovation and upgradation of the radiology department.
“The radiology department will be equipped with new equipment and machines, such as the colour Doppler and CT scan,” CHK medical superintendent Noshad A. Shaikh told Dawn.
He said a six-member committee had been formed, which would have three members from the Poor Patient Aid Society and three from the hospital.
The medical superintendent said the work would be completed within two months. He added that in one and a half years the civil hospital had received Rs162 million in donations.
The officials said the hospital had 1,100 doctors (from grade 17 to grade 20) and 1,517 paramedical staff, including 117 nurses aid and 350 skilled paramedics.
They explained that with 1,768 beds the infrastructure of the hospital was very large. “It has 36 special units. The turnover at the outpatient department is 3,000 patients and at emergency 800 patients. As many as 100 surgeries are performed daily.”
They added that the kitchen facilities of the CHK had also been privatized.
The official sources told Dawn that the administration of the hospital had signed an agreement with a private concern, which prepared food for as many as 1,500 patients every day.
“Under the agreement, the administration of the civil hospital pays Rs440,000 every month and the private concern spends Rs1 million on a monthly basis.”
The agreement, the sources added, would remain valid for five years. Besides, the private concern had decided the menu in consultation with the administration of the hospital.
The medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital Karachi, Dr Noshad A. Shaikh, said: “The project was undertaken by the administration of the Civil Hospital Karachi as part of private-public partnership. There are many philanthropists in the city who want to take part in activities aimed at ameliorating the lot of the poor. All they need is an assurance that their money would not be squandered.”
He said previously the administration of the hospital used to make do with Rs450,000 every month. At present, he added, with Rs1.4 million every month the hospital had been able to do much more for patients.
The official sources said that recently an emergency operation theatre had been completed which had also been constructed with the money from philanthropists. “The philanthropists had provided Rs8 million, with which the administration of Civil Hospital Karachi purchased equipment for two operation theatres.”
Mr Shaikh said a computerized information and registration centre had been established at the gate number two. ”Previously, people coming to visit patients, especially those coming from the interior of Sindh, would wander from one ward to another looking for their patients. Now all patients are registered at the computer department where admission and discharge data is also maintained. Computer attendant can guide the visitors easily.”
