May 18, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 12, 1429

KARACHI, May 17: The Neurology Research and Patient Welfare Fund (NRPWF), a non-governmental organisation running the National Epilepsy Centre till recently, has named retired Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid as its arbitrator to settle disputes with the management of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

According to NRPWF sources, as per Clause 15 - (ii) of the MoU signed between the NGO and the JPMC in 2006, any dispute regarding the NEC project had to be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration.

“The JPMC director and the management have also been informed about our choice of arbitrator; however, we have received no response till date,” said NRPWF president Prof Hasan Aziz.

He said that the unilateral decision of the JPMC management to take over the NRPWF’s National Epilepsy Centre, a designated facility for epilepsy control and management, was a cause of serious concern for the philanthropists as well as for other NGOs currently running no fewer than nine other projects at the JPMC.

“I fear this will also affect the public-private partnership initiative of the government,” said the senior neurologist.

The dispute is said to have severely hindered the work undertaken at the national level related to raising public awareness, prevention, training of doctors and research related to the ailment.

Dr Zarine Mogal, associated with the NGO, said that issue was directly linked to the well-being of the patients suffering from a condition which was not merely medical in nature but also held serious socio-psychological consequences coupled with economic implications.Sources at the NRPWF said that the construction work was still under way on the first and second floors of the NEC while OPD for epileptics was initiated less than a year ago.

“Patients were provided with the monthly stock of medicine for just Rs2 under the head of patient’s contribution,” Dr Hasan Aziz said, adding that 25 to 30 patients were attended to on a daily basis.

“We have not abandoned our patients and they continue to visit us and receive the required assistance at a space provided by a senior doctor working at the JPMC,” he said.—APP