RAWALPINDI: Punjab Caretaker Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare and Population Welfare Dr Jamal Nasir on Wednesday said that journalists would get 100pc discount on medical treatment at Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC), while a 40-bed ward for children is being planned at the institute.

He was visiting Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology where he inquired about the facilities from the patients.

The caretaker minister said that the memorandum of understanding between the Rawalpindi camp office of the National Press Club and the hospital administration will be signed soon and this facility will soon be available.

He said modern quality facilities are available in RIC and measures are being taken to further increase them because apart from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, citizens of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are also benefiting from this centre.He said that RIC had installed a state-of-the-art CT scan machine which had a capacity of 640 slices and such a modern machinery is available in only a few hospitals across the country.

He said that the peads ward would also be a great addition to the RIC and would prove to be an important step towards adapting the hospital to modern requirements.

He visited various wards of the hospital and was also given a detailed briefing about the facilities.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2024