KARACHI: By and large Karachiites who wish to remain anonymous keep the glimmer of hope alive in the dismal milieu of this metropolis. Dr Masood Ahmed, who died a few weeks ago, was one such Karachiite. He devoted the last years of his life to a public charity hospital that was conceived by the police.
For the last four years, he distributed his time between practice at Baqai Hospital and voluntary work at the Police Public Hospital. Since 2002, he performed over 1,200 major operations free. Two years ago when he was admitted in ICU, he chose to ignore his own health and performed four emergency operations because no other surgeon was available at the philanthropic hospital where he did volunteer work.
The patients at PPH requiring surgery only had to pay for their medicine as Dr Masood never charged a single paisa for the operations. He even used to bring a huge tiffin from home so that poor patients did not go hungry.
Operations like removal of gallbladder stones that costs Rs50,000 were done for less than Rs4,000 with medicine. Patients from as for as Rahim Yar Khan, Larkana, Dadu besides Hyderabad and Hub used to benefit from his efforts.
Dr Masood used to make sure that the hospital was never short of beds. As soon as occupancy exceeded the 25 beds available, reinforcements were procured, meanwhile the number of daily surgeries performed tripled.
Dr Masood who was an SMC graduate writing his MS thesis on carcinoma of gallbladder, when he met his maker. He had also served at East Timor treating youngsters most of whom were wounded by machetes. Besides free surgeries Dr Masood Ahmed had transformed two rat-infested buildings into full fledged schools in slum areas and assisted in expansion of various roads in Nazimabad and Liaquatabad.
The Police Public Hospital is a good example of what private sector can do to serve public good. One wonders who pays for the day to day expenses of the setup, well it is mostly the good people of Nazimabad.
The chipped-in to transform portion of the locality’s police station into a 32-bed hospital called Police Public Hospital.
The idea was encouraged by Dr Safdar Hussain and police officers Saud Ahmed and Hussain Asghar, besides many devoted surgeons, anaesthetists, dentists, eye-specialists and general practitioners who volunteer their time, expertise and even funds.
Many neighbours in the vicinity make it a point to donate zakat and the hide of sacrificial animals to PPH. This money is used to buy medicines from the wholesale market. A minibus operator donated the computer which is used to maintain a record of patients, medicines, and donation. Various businessmen donate lamps, plastic sheets and bed sheets. A religious scholar presented an air-conditioner. Other philanthropists of the area have donated equipment like ventilators, ECG, ultrasound and x-ray plant etc.
Dr Baqai provided equipment for the general surgery department while Dr Mohammad Ali Shah helped set up the eye treatment/operation theatre. The local sanitary merchants association which is on main Nazimabad Road less than a kilometre away gladly supplied the tiles for each theatre.
Some 600 patients benefit daily from PPH and the six clinics set up in slum areas. The main centre provides Rs50,000 worth free medicines every month. The clinics’ need Rs13,000 each for medicines and other expenses.
After initial treatment, if needed, patients are recommended to Abbasi Shaheed, Baqai or A.O. Clinic. Due to its rapport with these medical institutes, patients sent by PPH and its satellites are given urgent, exceptional and gratis treatment. Many other distinguished consultants of the metropolis treat PPH patients free.
The PPH also holds a 25-room eye camp in far-flung locales every fortnight that is attended by thousands where dozens of surgeries are performed. — M. Alam
KARACHI: By and large Karachiites who wish to remain anonymous keep the glimmer of hope alive in the dismal milieu of this metropolis. Dr Masood Ahmed, who died a few weeks ago, was one such Karachiite. He devoted the last years of his life to a public charity hospital that was conceived by the police.
