KARACHI, Aug 15: The capacity of the Department of Chest Medicine, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, has been enhanced up to 80 beds. The head of the chest medicine department, Dr Nadeem Rizvi, told Dawn that with the launching of another 48 beds on Tuesday in a newly constructed block on the first floor, with the support of philanthropists, the department was now in a position to provide indoor care to 80 non-TB patients.

Besides the general beds and 15-bed intensive care unit for non-TB patients, we have 15 beds in a separate block for treatment of open TB cases, Dr Rizvi informed.

The chest medicine department was originally housed in old pre-partition military barrack, now with the support and financial resources from philanthropists under the Patient Aids Foundation (PAF) and the government, the new building of the department is being constructed and furnished with equipment and other facilities in phases.The department also has a bronchoscopy suite, lung function laboratory and special asthma clinic with a centre for diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis.

The department on Tuesday arranged a ceremony to mark the inauguration of the first floor in its building costing around Rs10 million. The members of the PAF, donors, senior faculty and administration members attended the ceremony.

Speaking as chief guest at the ceremony, the acting director of the JPMC, Dr Musarrat Hussain, said that the chest medicine department had reached another landmark and the addition of the bed facility could surely be termed as a good example of private-public partnership.

He lauded the efforts made by the PAF in managing the chest department’s project and exhorted the donors to come forward more generously and join hands with the public sector to provide relief to patients.