PESHAWAR: PTI chairman Imran Khan on Saturday launched an appeal for Rs800 million donation for purchasing equipment for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH) Peshawar scheduled to become operational on Dec 29 this year.

“We have spent Rs3.2 billion on civil and mechanical work but we need to collect money to purchase high-tech machines to detect cancer at a very early stage and cure it successfully,” Imran told a news conference at the site of the hospital, which is under construction here.

Imran, who is the chairman of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, said the SKMCH Peshawar was 30 per cent bigger and more modern than Lahore’s, which was built 21 years ago.

He said keeping in view the Lahore experience, a building of international standard had been put up in Peshawar.

The PTI chief said the building was designed by a Imran launches donation appeal for Peshawar cancer hospital US-based firm specialising in putting up hospital structures.

He said construction of the SKMCH Karachi would begin soon as the land for it had already been acquired.

Imran appreciated the former ANP government for donating 50 kanal of land for the Peshawar cancer hospital and said former chief minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti would be invited to the inaugural ceremony.

“I am sure that the people will support me as usual. The SKMCH is the only health facility in the world, which provides free treatment to 75 per cent patients,” he said.

The PTI chief said the rich people could afford the costly treatment but the poor people were unable to pay Rs800,000 to Rs1 million for treatment.

He said currently, the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital Lahore received 25 per cent of patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata, who had to frequently travel to the city after covering a long distance.

“In Lahore, doctors receive 100 patients every day but around 15 are facilitated due to shortage of space,” he said.

Imran said the total annual expenditure of the SKMCH Lahore were Rs7 billion of which Rs3.5 billion was generated from the hospital’s own resources like pathology collection centres and paying patients, while the rest were donated by the people.

He praised overseas Pakistanis and students for their generosity towards cancer patients and expressed optimism that the SKMCH&RC would get the required donation within 51 days.

The PTI chief said his donation appeal was meant for the whole nation, including federal and provincial governments as well.

On the occasion, SKMCH&RC chief executive officer Dr Faisal Sultan said the first part of the Peshawar cancer hospital would begin operations in the coming Dec with outpatients clinics, 20 chemotherapy beds, six emergency room assessment beds, 12 admission beds, two ICU beds, radiology services, including mammography, plain radiology and ultrasonography, and pathology laboratory.

He said a walk-in clinic, which had long been operating in Peshawar, was recently shifted to the SKMCH&RC Hayatabad Township.

SKMCH&RC medical director Dr Asim Yousaf said patients would receive most of their treatment in Peshawar except for surgery and radiation, which would be provided in the second phase of the project.

He said 85 per cent civil work in the hospital was complete and that chemotherapy which patients needed repeatedly would begin in the first phase of the project.

“We are working in phases to make the hospital a quality facility for diagnostic, treatment and research activities,” he said.

SKMCH&RC’s Dr Shahid Khattak said the Peshawar cancer hospital would not only provide world class treatment to patients but also spread medical education about cancer and its diagnosis.

He said different forms of cancers were completely curable if they’re diagnosed in early stages.

“Local doctors, nurses and paramedics will get training opportunities at the hospital with a view to scale up their techniques and identify cancer patients,” he said.

Dr Khattak said the SKMCH&RC would also carry out research on causative agents of various types of cancer and recommend measures accordingly.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2015

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