KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) will be expanded and developed into a model children’s institute to reach out to increasing numbers of ailing humanity.

Presiding over a meeting on the NICH at CM House on Monday, the chief minister said he had directed the minister for health to submit to him a detailed proposal on the establishment of another block at the hospital. “I want to make this institute a model children’s hospital,” he said.

“We have given special attention to the hospital, which is one of the major hospitals handed over to the Sindh government under the 18th Constitutional Amendment,” he added.

“This is the only hospital where children are given special treatment free of cost and it does not charge even a simple receipt fee. The benefits of investment in the hospital trickle down directly to the poor children.”

About the demand for appointment of required staff, the chief minister asked the director of NICH to form a committee to appoint lower staff. Since the court had stayed appointment of senior staff, a different procedure might be adopted to fill vacant posts. “I cannot allow anybody to create hindrances to the treatment of ailing children,” he said.

He directed health minister to make personal efforts and get the stay vacated so that all vacant posts could be filled forthwith. The posts lying vacant for want of promotions could also be filled through departmental promotions, he added.

Mr Shah said that by the end of this month he would inaugurate newly-established nursery in the NICH, therefore, the remaining work of the ward must be finished in time.

He said that an ADP scheme had been allocated to NICH for expansion of nursery. “The people of this city are very God-fearing and believe in service of humanity. God always rewards those who contribute selflessly to redress sufferings of their fellow human beings,” he said.

Earlier, director of NICH Prof Syed Jamal Raza said while briefing the chief minister, that the NICH, a six-storey and 500-bed hospital for children, catered to over 1500 patients daily at the OPD, and around 29,000 annual admissions were made in the institute. Over 15,000 patients visited the emergency and 10,000 operations were conducted every year, he added.

He said the sanctioned strength of the institute was 815 employees, including doctors, paramedical staff and others. Presently, 250 positions of pediatricians were vacant in different departments such as medicine, surgery, radiology, radiology-MRI, anesthesiology, neonatology and nephrology, he said.

Prof Raza said that earlier there were 40 incubators and their number had risen to 60. Besides the Sindh government which provided all the facilities, including medicines, equipment etc, philanthropists also contributed substantially to the hospital, he added.

He stressed the need to fill vacant posts to withstand growing pressure of patients in OPD, admission and OT etc. Sometimes three patients had to be kept on a single bed, he said.

The meeting was also attended by Minister for Health Jam Mehtab Dahar, chief secretary Siddque Memon, principal secretary to CM Alamuddin Bullo, advocate general Zamir Ghumro, secretary health Ahmed Bux Narejo and secretary finance Sohail Rajput.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2016