May 19, 2008	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 13, 1429

KARACHI, May 18: Work on a multi-million cardiac centre at the Lyari General Hospital is at its advanced stage and expected to be completed during the next fiscal year.

According to LGH medical superintendent Captain (retd) Mukhtiar Ahmed Khawja, the centre will have modern treatment facilities. “All-out efforts are being made to ensure maximum possible health care facilities at the centre despite resource constraints. The work on the installation of a digital telephone exchange has almost been completed and it will be operational soon,” he said.

Besides, he added, the old laundry machines were being replaced with new ones. “We are also in contact with relevant agencies to resolve the issue of chronic water shortage,” he said, and expressed his confidence that the authorities concerned would take measures in this regard.

According to statistics, 2,556 major and 931 minor surgeries were performed at the hospital last year. Till April, 797 major and 367 minor surgeries have been performed this year.

Several complicated cases of orthopaedic surgeries were performed at the hospital. Among such cases were polio, deformities, congenital dislocation of hip, total hip replacement, infections (osteoarthritis), interlocking nails, keyhole surgery and arthroscopy.

Founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the hospital was designed to have most modern facilities that could make it a premier medical institution in the public sector to cater to the needs of the poor people of Lyari, as well as those of the neighbouring areas of Balochistan.

Built at a cost of Rs100 million with the financial assistance of the World Bank, the hospital was formally inaugurated in 1983. However, the hospital had been denied the required funds for two decades.