ISLAMABAD, Dec 18: The oncology department of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) is without the much needed staff and a ward, Dawn has learnt.

According to hospital’s administration official, around 1,500 cancer patients were on routine treatment list of the department since its inception in 2009.

“The number of cancer patients visiting Pims is increasing with every passing day and the list of daily visitors has almost swelled to 40,” he maintained.

He said that Pims was the only hospital in the region that coped with general patients from AJK, Dir, Swat and Gilgit-Baltistan and a few cities of Punjab including Jehlum and Attock.

In Islamabad, Nuclear Medicine, Oncology & Radio Therapy Institute (Nori) is also providing full treatment to cancer patients, he said adding but the need for an oncology department arose after massive load of patients at Nori made the job of its physicians tougher.

He said the Pims oncology department was established with the aim to give treatment to the patients of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

“But we take patients from outside the twin cities as well. We prescribe them medicines and routine cancer injections and they purchase them with the financial assistance of Zakat Department,” the official maintained.

He said since the department had no separate ward the cancer patients were accommodated in the gastroenterology ward where a few beds had been allocated for them.

But facilities there are too meager for a cancer patient, the official said.

Nadeem Ahmed (not original name), a patient at the oncology department, said: “If one cannot arrange finances from Zakat Department, the cancer treatment even at a government hospital proves too costly.

Some times the hospital does not have place to accommodate cancer patients as they are short of beds and facilities.”

Nadeem said the high cost of treatment could be gauged from the fact that a routine injection for cancer patient was available for Rs4,000 and “we purchase it after every fifteen days, besides other antibiotics.”

“Pims never gives us these drugs instead we have to rely on Zakat or our own resources,” said the ailing patient.

A ward boy on condition of anonymity said: “To look after a cancer patient is rather more specialised task as he/she needs continuous observation and on time intake of medicines and administration of injections.” “Since we are short of beds in the hospital so things are not good for them,” admitted the ward boy.

When approached, the spokesman for the Pims said: “We have started the oncology department in 2009 and the department is still undergoing teething problems.

The department has been given the services of a medical officer and few house officers and its strength will be increased with the passage of time.”

Asked that the department has no beds for the cancer patients leaving them in great trouble, he said: “As a stopgap arrangement the patients are accommodated in the ward of gastroenterology department.”

He said in the next budget the federal government would allocate funds for the department and the things would improve.

He, however, assured that they would try to resolve the problems raised by the patients.