ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has decided to expand its pathology department.

A new block will be constructed on a 8,000 square-foot land at Pims to facilitate around 100,000 more patients annually. Funds for the project will be provided by the president of Pakistan.

Since 1986, the number of patients has been increasing at Pims.

The pathology department, in the meanwhile, registered an increase of patients from 78,904 to 504,628 per year. Moreover, the number of lab tests per year, which was 315,614 in 1986, increased to 2,834,450 per year.

As many as 83 per cent of the patients visiting the labs are government servants or fall in the category of poor who are provided free service at the laboratories. Currently, 35 postgraduate, 200 undergraduate and 12 paramedics are getting training in the department. Besides, 25 research projects are also being conducted in the department in collaboration with different universities.

Pims’ media coordinator Dr Waseem Khawaja told Dawn that though lab tests were done at five places on the premises of Pims, all the facilities were overburdened forcing the patients to stand in queues to give samples.

“After the construction of the three-storey building, the pathology department will provide quick and easier service to the patients,” he said.

“The chemical pathology lab of Pims is the only lab in the public sector to have its tests verified by the College of American Pathologists as an external quality control,” Dr Khawaja said.

Pathology Department Chairman Professor Ashok Kumar Tanwani said the Rs22 million project would be completed within 10 months.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2015

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