KARACHI, Sept 20: Senate chairman Mohammadmian Soomro has underscored the need for introducing the “bone-marrow transplantation” facility in public sector institutions, as the National Institute of Child Health has called upon local philanthropists to support the cause.

Speaking at a symposium on “role of NGOs in the tertiary care of the sick children” held at NICH to commemorate the Silver Jubilee Year of the Child-Aid Association (CAA) here on Saturday, he eulogized the role being played by the organisation as a trendsetter of private-public partnership.

The cause undertaken by the CAA to support the ailing children in varied manners needs not only to be emulated but also strongly supported, the Senate chairman commented, adding that proposed funding, coming to around Rs 30 million, for bone-marrow transplantation unit could be arranged through meaningful support of local philanthropists.

He also agreed with the recommendations forwarded by the NICH director, Prof. Zeenat Issani with regard to provision of adequately trained and well-qualified health care professionals, including nurses, para-medics and specialists.

The Senate chairman, responding to the NICH director’s suggestion for adequate facilities for health-care providers, particularly the post-graduate students, announced to help upgradation of NICH library.

Prof. Zeenat Issani speaking on the occasion referred to acute shortage of trained health care personnel in the hospital, mentioning that no more than 82 qualified nurses are presently working at the institute against a need of 182.

Mentioning that even provision for 182 nurses could not be termed ideal in the backdrop of ever-growing pressure of patients, Prof Issani maintained that compared to the need of 300 para-medical staffers, there happen to be no more than 150 of them, including nursing attendants, nurse-aides, LHV and soforth.

The situation was said to be in the backdrop of the fact that 22,000 admissions at NICH during 2002, with 700 to 800 attended daily at the OPDs.

The director maintained that while support in terms of drugs and equipments were appreciable, public sector hospitals, including NICH, need to have support to arrange training programmes to update professional medical skills of the staffers on a regular basis, besides assistance to acquire services of qualified professionals.

President, Child Aid Association, Prof. Nizam Ul Hasan, in his welcome address mentioned that besides establishment of an Oncology Unit, comprising a staff of 30 well-trained professionals in 1999, the CAA was also meeting a significant portion of its recurring expenditure.

“The unit, financially supported by the CAA, is providing free medicines and special laboratory and radiological tests to over 150 cancer patients of various sorts every month,” he said, mentioning the ongoing efforts to provide bone-marrow transplantation facility at the unit.

—APP