KARACHI, Jan 31: The city government has planned to make two cardiac hospitals functional in Landhi and Shah Faisal towns in the next two months.

This was stated by City Nazim Mustafa Kamal at a meeting of the governing body of the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases on Saturday.

In view of an increase in the number of heart patients in the city, the nazim noted that there was an urgent need to provide more facilities to the patients on the pattern of KIHD and, in the first phase, two hospitals with a capacity of 25 beds each would be established in Shah Faisal and Landhi towns, where hospital buildings had already been built.

The proposed hospitals would be equipped with all facilities and skilled manpower and doctors capable of performing even open-heart surgeries, the nazim added.

Presiding over the governing body meeting, the nazim also referred to the problem of absenteeism in hospitals and dispensaries of the city government and warned that those who were failing to deliver the best or were not regular would be fired immediately.

The governing body approved the proposal for making KIHD a medical education institution as well and allowed the development of two-month training courses.

The meeting also resolved to seek the affiliation of KIHD with the Karachi Medical and Dental College.

The governing body also approved the creation of eight new posts of senior registrar at KIHD, and increased the monthly salary of nurses from Rs5,000 to Rs6,500.