MULTAN, Aug 31: The new 112-bed emergency block of the Nishtar Hospital will become operational in the first week of October, enhancing the hospital’s emergency services capacity four times.

The exterior of the building was complete in all respects, while finishing work was in progress in the interior, MS Dr Rasheed Ahmad told APP here on Thursday.

He said: “We hope the new block will be handed over to the hospital administration by the end of September, and the facility will be operational in the first week of October.”

The existing emergency ward with limited space to accommodate 30 beds at the most was insufficient to cater to the needs of not only Multan, but also other parts of south Punjab as well as adjoining Sindh and Balochistan areas, he said.

He said doctors and other staff had already been appointed to handle the new emergency.