KARACHI, May 22: Sindh health minister, Maj-Gen Ahsan Ahmed, on Wednesday inaugurated the attendants’ waiting areas and the computerized information centre at the Civil Hospital Karachi.

He said that the new administration of the CHK was trying to improve patient care and mitigate the sufferings of the people whom he termed as partners in patient care.

Ahsan said such facilities could never suffice if our people did not realize that hospitals were not visiting grounds. “Relatives and attendants who flock hospitals jeopardize the safety, security and hygienic conditions of hospitals and cause inconvenience to patients. He urged the media to help educate the people in that respect.

He said CHK and the adjacent Dow Medical College could take pride in the fact that so many projects with the cooperation of donors were being undertaken which reflected the confidence in the performance of those institutions.

The minister pointed out that the burns centre at the CHK had been built with the help of the Friends of Burns Centre and would have an administrative set up addressing the concerns of the donors. “This will be a new trend and a step forward. The new set up for the provision of diet to the patients in the hospital is another such example,” he added. He also thanked the Poor Patients Aid Society for becoming active partners of the CHK.

Medical superintendent CHK, Dr Naushad A. Shaikh, speaking on the occasion, assured that his institution would address all the legitimate concerns and issues promptly in the best interest of the hospital. Begum Sultana Akhtar Rashid, founder member of Poor Patients Aid Society, also spoke on the occasion.

Later the minister visited Imran, a young man who was injured in mishap and is being treated at the hospital— APP