HYDERABAD, March 13: The Red Crescent Cardiac Hospital here plans to carry out open- heart surgery will by June.

This was stated by DCO Mohammad Hussain Syed, who is also the president of Hilal-i-Ahmar, Hyderabad, at the inaugural ceremony of an angiography unit at the hospital on Saturday.

He said advanced machine had been installed at a cost of Rs30 million.

He said in the beginning free angiography would be provided to the poor patients while others would be charged Rs15,000 each.

He claimed the charges were quite low when compared to private hospitals in Karachi.

The DCO called upon Hilal-i-Ahmar to launch a programme for dissemination of information on the pattern of Aga Khan Hospital to create awareness about adopting care and cure methodologies.

He said Hilal-i-Ahmar was planning to establish a separate children ward at the hospital in Latifabad.

He said the district government had planned to establish a separate surgical ward at the Shah Bhittai hospital for which land had been provided by the TMA Latifabad.

The DCO said work on the dialysis centre at the Shah Bhittai Hospital was already in progress where services would be provided to patients free of cost.

Earlier, Hilal-i-Ahmar chairman Dr Farooque Memon said in addition to cardiac treatment facilities, a blood bank had also been established at the hospital that would be registered within two weeks. He said two new ambulances had been purchased for providing transportation facilities to patients.

Mr Memon said Hilal-i-Ahmar was providing training to its workers to cope with disaster situation and minimize loss of lives and properties.

He requested for allotment of old dispensary building of the TMA city on the Risala road for setting up Hilal-i-Ahmar Emergency centre.