ISLAMABAD: Minister for National Health Services (NHS) Abdul Qadir Patel on Thursday laid the foundation stone of a 300-bed extension of Polyclinic at G-11, which will be completed at a cost of Rs9.91 billion in three years.

The minister also inaugurated a 70-bed community health centre (CHC) in G-13 which will cater to a population of around 200,000.

Moreover, work on the construction of an isolation hospital at Islamabad International Airport was also opened.

Speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony, Mr Patel said an amount of Rs9.91 billion will be provided through Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the project which would be completed in three years.

“Population of federal capital has been continuously increasing due to which burden on hospitals is also increasing. Moreover, a large number of patients from different provinces visit hospitals in the federal capital. So it has become imperative to build a new hospital in the city. Extension of Polyclinic, which will be called Polyclinic II, will be built in G-11/3. It is a matter of immense pleasure that I have arranged resources for the 300-bed hospital,” he said.

The minister added that a large number of people from Punjab, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan would also benefit from the facility.

He said around 6,000 patients visited the outpatient department (OPD) of Polyclinic on a daily basis.

“We have introduced health reforms across the country and streamlined issues of hospitals,” he said.

Earlier, the minister laid the foundation of the isolation hospital at the IIA where suspected passengers would be kept.

Director General Health Dr Baseer Achakzai, while talking to Dawn, said time to time passengers suspected of diseases such as monkeypox were identified but they had to be shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) as the airport lacked an isolation hospital.

“We have got a one kanal land at the airport so it has been decided to construct a ground-plus two-storey building in which there will be around 15 rooms to keep suspected patients,” he said.

He said chances of the spread of diseases increased with the travel so a suspect should be immediately shifted to the nearest isolation hospital.

Replying to a question, Dr Achakzai said that the project had to be completed in two years but efforts would be made to complete it within 18 months.

Later, the minister went to G-13 to inaugurate the 70-bed community health centre (CHC).

He said he population of around 200,000 people would benefit from the CHC.

District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia told Dawn that there will be facility of mother and child centre. He said all the primary level and a number of secondary level health issues would be treated there.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2023