KARACHI: City Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that our goal is to improve healthcare facilities to provide relief to the people of the city during these times of inflation, and we remain committed to this goal.

He was speaking to reporters on Monday after inaugurating a dental unit and nursery at Gizri Maternity Home, accompanied by his representative for political affairs Karamullah Waqasi and other officials.

Wahab said that old hospital in Gizri had been privatised in the past, but the private organisation responsible for running it had been charging exorbitant fees for treatment there. When they (PPP) came into power, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) took over the hospital and started work there, he said.

He said: “Over the past year, 14 hospitals under the KMC have been improved. The Sindh government of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has assisted us in this matter. The journey of improvement in the city will continue in the same manner.”

With the establishment of the dental unit and nursery, that maternity home would be able to serve the people of Gizri even better. In this hospital, OPD costs Rs20, ultrasound Rs150, normal child delivery Rs2,000 and root canal service is provided for Rs500.

Vows to upgrade healthcare facilities in Karachi with Sindh govt’s support

He said there was a time when news would broadcast on television about mishandling of deliveries at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. “We corrected the gynaecology ward there and established a child health institution there. Dental system is also running successfully in the ASH since the Jiyala mayor assumed his office,” he said.

He said the PPP leadership had activated the nursing school at the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases, which would help improve the economic conditions of 130 families. “We have overcome the challenges of the past year, and the hospitals facing water issues will be addressed on a priority basis,” he vowed.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2024