KARACHI: JPMC gets Rs40m from Centre for uplift work
KARACHI, Dec 26: The Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre Karachi has received a sum of Rs40 million from the federal government for the upgradation of its wards, facilities and equipment.
This was stated by the Director of JPMC, Prof. Kazi Abdul Shakoor, while speaking at a news conference on Friday.
He said this very amount, which was a special grant from the prime minister, has been disbursed in full.
The JPMC director also announced that a PC-I had also been approved for the setting up of a college for medical technology at the JPMC.
He said this would be utilized for offering diploma courses and training of paramedical staff.
Prof. Shakoor also stated that the centre for sterilization services at the JPMC would also be upgraded.
He said that the nephrology section of the hospital has up to nine dialysis machines at present and that eight more such machines were being added.
The JPMC chief also spoke of the burden of electricity and other utility bills on the hospital.
He also spoke of the shortage of medical and para-medical personnel at the hospital.
Prof. Shakoor said the approved strength of the hospital is 1,873 whereas the JPMC requires the services of some 400 doctors and other staff.
Dr. Musarrat Hussain said that the mental diseases are on the increase in the country.
He was of the view that some 15 per cent of the country’s population needed psychiatric help.
Dr. Musarrat said the children were more in need of such an assistance.
He stated that with the increase in awareness, the stigma associated with the mental ailments had lessened in society.
He said that about 75 per cent of the Pakistanis are financially dependent on others, as more than 50 per cent of the population is too young to earn a living and another 25 per cent comprises adult women who are not allowed to go out of their homes.
As a consequence, the financial burden of the whole country falls on the shoulders of the 25 per cent of the Pakistanis, consisting almost exclusively of its adult males. The prevalence of mental diseases among this section of the population is rising mainly due to stresses and tensions involved in earning a livelihood.
Dr. Musarrat said that a three-day annual symposium will be organized under the auspices of the JPMC from Dec 29, and the theme of the moot will be “Mental health: A national priority”.
Senate chairman Mohammadmian Soomro will be the chief guest at the inaugural session.
Federal health secretary, Ejaz Rahim, will chair the plenary session of the symposium.
Maj. Gen. (Retd) Muhammad Aslam, director general health, will be the co-chairman.
In all, there will be 28 lectures, to be delivered by medical experts in different fields and 135 scientific papers on different specialties. Five hands-on training workshops would also be organized on the occasion.
Prof Anis Bhatti, the chief of the technical committee, said even though the symposium was a multi-disciplinary one, three of the five “hands on training workshops” to be held were related to mental problems.
“These are ‘Prevention and Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease’, ‘Acute Coronary Syndrome’ and ‘Irritable Bowel Syndrome’,” he said. — APP
