PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has said that the establishment of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH & RC) in Peshawar has gladdened him more than winning the Cricket World Cup in 1992 because the poor people couldn’t afford the costly treatment of cancer and the hospital would facilitate them.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the second SKMCH & RC here on Tuesday, Mr Khan said that he had travelled around the world to collect donations for the hospital after he saw the hardships of poor people. “I didn’t sleep last night because of my happiness on the completion of the hospital,” he said.
Earlier, Fakhir Afridi, a child suffering from cancer, inaugurated the hospital which will start receiving patients from Wednesday (today).
Young cancer patient inaugurates Peshawar SKMCH
“I congratulate all Pakistanis for their generosity which made it possible to build two hospitals,” he said. Mr Khan said that his mother’s death from cancer was despite his having resources and star status due to which he got facilities, but the poor population had no place to go for treatment of cancer.
“When I decided to build the hospital 19 of 20 doctors whom I consulted, disagreed and advised me to stay away from the impossible project, but I was determined due to which we built the Lahore cancer hospital 21 years ago and opened the second one in Peshawar today,” he said.
It is a miracle because these are the only hospitals in the world which offer free cancer treatment to 75 per cent of the patients, he said.
Take a look: Shaukat Khanum cancer hospital inaugurated in Peshawar
Mr Khan appreciated Dr Nausherwan Khan Burki, Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Asim Yousaf for helping him to realise his dream of making free hospitals.
In 1997, the PML-N started a campaign against the SKMCH &RC, Lahore, due to which it was near to stop operations because of reduction in donations, but the people helped him and thwarted the move. Afterwards, there has been no problem of funds, he said.
“We spend Rs7 billion a year in Lahore and faced a deficit of Rs3.5 billion, but besides making up for the deficit we were also able to raise Rs4 billion for the Peshawar hospital. “Common people and schoolchildren have helped me a great deal in my efforts,” he said.
The PTI chairman said that they launched an appeal for Rs800 million in November to equip the Peshawar hospital, but due to track record of the SKMCH & RC, Lahore, they collected Rs900 million. He said that both the hospitals offered the same treatment facilities to both rich and poor.
Dr Faisal Sultan, CEO SKMCH & RC, said that cancer treatment was very expensive and it brought huge economic hardships and pain to the families, but the support they had been getting from the people was great. “When we appeal for donations, we always receive a positive response from people,” he said.
“This hospital is 33 per cent bigger than the one in Lahore in terms of offering facilities, which will receive patients from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Afghanistan,” he said.
Dr Asim Yousaf, chief medical officer of SKMCH & RC, said that Pakistan recorded between 150,000 and 200,000 new cancer patients every year, but they admitted only 9,000 because of space shortage.
“We would require at least 20 more hospitals the size of SKMCH to cater to the patients load,” he said, adding that the Peshawar hospital was enough for the next 40 years.
Dr Yousaf said that they had employed local staff after imparting them training in Lahore. He said that there would be complete cooperation between the Peshawar and Lahore hospitals to ensure provision of the best possible facilities to the patients.
Philip Barton, British High Commissioner to Pakistan, also attended the inaugural ceremony. Chief Minister Perez Khattak, Jahangir Khan Tareen, Abdul Aleem Khan, Dr Fauzia Qasuri and other PTI leaders were also present, while Naeem Bukhari hosted the event held on the hospital’s lawns.
Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2015
