ISLAMABAD: As admitting patients, especially children, has become a huge problem at the Pakistan Institute of Medial Sciences (Pims), which is a gift from the people of Japan and was constructed in 1985, the government of Japan has decided to construct a mother and child incentive care (ICU) unit in the hospital.

Groundbreaking of the project was held on Thursday under which the ICU having 150 beds will be completed by year 2023 at a cost of Rs4 billion.

Director Hospital Dr Ijaz Qadeer told Dawn that the hospital was facing severe shortage of incentive care beds as people from the city as well as from Punjab, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and other areas visited Pims for treatment.

“There are 250 beds in the Children Hospital out of which 50 beds are in the ICU. Similarly, out of the 125 beds in the Mother and Child Hospital, 25 are in the ICU,” he said.

“The government of Japan has decided to construct a mother and child incentive care unit in which there will be 150 beds. The project will be completed in 2023,” Dr Qadeer said.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, Japanese Ambassador Matsuda Kuninori and others.

Dr Sultan while speaking to the media said people of Japan and Pakistan were having friendly relations for over 70 years.

“During disasters and all sort of situations, people of Japan supported countries across the globe,” he said.

He expressed the hope that the outgoing Japanese ambassador would see a positive change in the hospital whenever he would visit Pakistan again.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2021