• Rejects criticism at Sindh govt, saying actions speak louder than words
• Terms NICVD, NICH and JPMC exemplary models of good governance post 18th Amendment
• Says his party takes pride in providing free healthcare services to people from all over country

KARACHI: In an attempt to silence his political allies and adversaries pressurising his party’s government in Sindh to provide relief in electricity bills, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday spoke of his government’s efforts in the health sector, emphasising that hospitals were offering quality ‘free-of-cost services’ to all patients including those from other provinces and other countries.

He said this at the inauguration ceremony of two cutting-edge medical facilities — the 120-bed Rashid Soorty Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences and the 110-bed Saif-ul-Islam Department of Neurology and Stroke Unit — at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

The newly inaugurated departments are built by a well-known non-governmental organisation, the Patients Aid Foundation (PAF), under a public-private partnership. Earlier, the departments were functioning in a 60-year-old building with few rooms for outpatient departments and limited capacity for admission.

With 120 beds, the JPMC psychiatry department is now the largest mental health facility with a dedicated floor for women and children. It has 17 rooms for OPD on the ground floor where more than 650 patients would be entertained daily. Similar is the case with the neurology and stroke unit. Both departments are equipped with the latest equipment.

Speaking on the occasion, the PPP chairman said: “You may have heard criticism suggesting that the Sindh government does nothing or that we don’t undertake mega projects. But actions speak louder than words.”

“The best hospitals in Pakistan are located in Sindh. The JPMC, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and National Institute of Child Health (NICH) represent the top healthcare institutions in the country,” he said, while describing the three institutions as a beacon of hope amid negative news that often circulated about Pakistan

“The NICH is providing free healthcare services to children. The CyberKnife machine for cancer treatment at JPMC is available only at handful of countries globally,” he said, while pointing out that while cancer treatment using this machine abroad cost over a thousand dollars, the JPMC offered it free of cost.

He termed these hospitals as exemplary models of good governance and successful public-private partnerships by the provincial government, adding that they were proof of how effectively the province had managed its institutions after the 18th Amendment.

He commended the contribution of Sindh’s business community for partnering with the provincial government in providing free healthcare services and recognised them as leaders in charity work across the country.

The PPP chairman asserted that his party and Sindh government took pride in providing free and quality healthcare services to the public.

He noted that the expensive PET-CT scan required for cancer diagnosis was not offered for free in any province other than Sindh.

He proudly stated that JPMC’s cancer department attracts patients from 167 cities across the country, as well as from 15 other countries.

In his remarks, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah said that the PPP chairman had suggested that during the prime minister’s next visit to Karachi, he should be taken on a tour to JPMC, NICVD and NICH.

He expressed his willingness to assist in establishing similar hospitals in Punjab and highlighted the ongoing efforts to set up such facilities in Balochistan.

“We want similar hospitals in Lahore so that people there can also benefit from free treatment,” he added.

Speaking about the two newly inaugurated projects, the CM said his government had been covering the operational costs of the Cyberknife unit since 2018.

He said that his government had achieved another significant milestone in a successful public-private partnership between the Sindh government and Patients’ Aid Foundation (PAF). The Sindh government donated a new state-of-the-art Cyberknife system worth $4.1 million to the PAF to handle the growing workload, he said.

He said that the government had authorised the Patients’ Aid Foundation for the operational autonomy of the Radiation Oncology Section through an agreement.

“Now, the JPMC houses two Cyberknifes and two Tomotherapy units under one roof,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, head of the Cyberknife Unit Dr Tariq Mahmood informed the PPP chairman that Cyberknife offered curative treatment for early-stage tumours with radiation without pain or anaesthesia.

At the end of the programme, Mr Bhutto-Zardari participated in a signing ceremony between the Patients Aid Foundation and the Sindh government for the radiation oncology section at JPMC.

The ceremony was also attended by Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, provincial ministers and others.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2024