05 March 2005	Saturday	23 Muharram 1426

KARACHI, March 4: The Senate standing committee on health has recommended to the government to bring on a par budgetary allocation for the National Institute of Cardio-Vascular Diseases (NICVD) with the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC).

The committee, headed by Senator Roshan Khurshid Bharucha, after attending a briefing by Prof Azhar Farooqui at the NICVD here on Friday, observed that the increase in the workload at the institute over the years called for a substantial raise in the budget.

Acknowledging that the present budget of Rs130 million was inadequate in view of the fact that about 70 pert cent of the 50,000 patients visiting the hospital with heart-related complications, were ordinary people who could not pay more than the token amount of Rs20, the committee urged the federal government to make it comparable with other health outlets run by it.

The committee acknowledged that the NICVD, the country's major autonomous health-care centre, had not been receiving any support from international donor agencies like JICA and others owing to a shift in the latter's priorities towards primary health, which had aggravated the situation caused by shortage of funds.

It may be mentioned that the NICVD had submitted proposals to the federal government for a budget of Rs400 million as there was not only a massive increase in the number of patients but it also required equipments and accessories which have to be imported.

In reply to a question, Prof Farooqui said that he had already submitted a PC-1 worth Rs500 to Rs550 million to the federal government for refurbishment and renovation of the NICVD.

The briefing was attended by Senator Razina Alam Khan, Senator Dr Kausar Firdous, Senator Dr Azizullah Satakzai, Senator Dr Ismail Buledi and Senator Syed Sajjad Bukhari.

Earlier, at a meeting at the JPMC, the committee discussed encroachment of the JPMC land, which had created obstacles in the expansion and development of the hospital, and appealed to the Sindh governor and chief minister to provide alternative land to the people, mainly comprising second generation of those who settled at the land several years back.

Responding to the presentation made by JPMC Director Prof Mashoor Alam, they stressed the need for simplifying the procedure for procuring drugs and medicines under the head of Zakat fund for patients belonging to places other than Karachi but visiting the JPMC, NICH, NICVD for lack of health care facilities in their areas.

The committee members also urged the health ministry to ensure increase in the number of posts of doctors, nurses and paramedics at the NICH and the NICVD. With regard to issues related to promotion of doctors associated with health institutions run by the federal government, the committee agreed that merit should be adopted as the sole criterion as no compromise could be made in health sector, which was directly linked to safety of human lives.

The committee stressed the need to expedite the promotion process and called for an adequate increase in the seniority allowance for doctors serving in BPS 17 and above. The committee appreciated the measures adopted by the JPMC administration to improve the communication and public dealing skills of hospital staff.

The members were of the view that staff of the three institutions was working against the odds and despite acute resource constraints was doing its best to provide the best possible service to the masses. The secretary health informed the committee that a list had been acquired about out of order machines at the JPMC and they were being replaced and repaired. -APP