Medical and Hospital facilities updates

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The federal government announced the privatization of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital, Islamabad on Monday in accordance with the Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) Ordinance.
Following the enforcement of the ordinance, the patients visiting the hospital for check-ups and tests will be charged fees equivalent to those of other private hospitals.

A spokesperson for the PIMS Hospital said that the promulgation of the ordinance means that patients will now be charged heavy fees for regular check-ups and tests.

Prior to this, the hospital had either nominal or no charges for their provision of medical services to the public.

The spokesperson also revealed that the cancer patients that are not treated at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital are given free treatment at the PIMS Hospital and that the privatization entails such patients having to pay heavy fees for their treatment

That is not factually correct.

Additionally, comments (such as those alleging large increases in fees) from staff members who are striking against the MTI Ordinance related restructuring need to be verified since the staff is protesting against the very process that they are maligning.

On another note, there is a need for regulations that set out 'pricing bands' for different medical procedures in various parts of the country, especially if the government continues rolling out public health coverage for more and more people through the health cards.

 

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PM IMRAN KHAN inaugurated Peshawar Institute of Cardiology today.

 

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Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in DHA Defense Housing Authority Phase 9 Karachi

 

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Saudi govt to give Rs 640m equipment for Mansehra hospital

25 Dec 2020

Deputy commissioner Dr Qasim Ali Khan has said the Saudi government will supply over Rs640 million worth of hi-tech surgical equipment and machines for the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital.


MANSEHRA: Deputy commissioner Dr Qasim Ali Khan has said the Saudi government will supply over Rs640 million worth of hi-tech surgical equipment and machines for the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, Mansehra, early next year saying the initiative will help improve healthcare in the district.

“Most of the health issues raised by you will be addressed after the supply of surgical equipment and hi-tech machines by Saudi Arabia for the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital,” Dr Qasim told an open kutcheri organised by the district administration at the hospital here on Thursday.

The DC said the Kath bedding capacity was being increased from 350 to 550.


Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2020

 

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Pakistan to Start Mass Production of Vaccines to Stop Reliance on India


Pakistan will start the mass production of anti-rabies vaccines and snake venom antidote by 2021 to end its dependence on imports from India for them.

The country requires between 200,000 and 300,000 doses of antidote for snake bites and 1.5 million to 2 million doses of rabies vaccine every year. These doses have been imported from India but there has been a temporary shortage in their supply due to the strained relations between the countries.

The head of Vaccine Production at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Dr. Ghazala Parveen, said, “An entirely new manufacturing facility has been set up and approved by DRAP for the mass production of anti-snake venom, anti-rabies sera, typhoid vaccine, and tetanus toxoid”.

“With the latest machinery and equipment at hand, we hope that the country will not import these products from India in the future,” she added.

Pakistan will resort to importing the vaccines from China until the local production meets the local demand

 

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Pakistan to purchase 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Chinese firm


Hamza Zakir
Dec 31 ·

The Government of Pakistan is all set to purchase a total of 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.

The news was shared by Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary, who took to Twitter to announce that the cabinet committee has decided to initially purchase 1.2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Sinopharm.

The minister explained that the vaccine will be provided free of cost to frontline workers in the first quarter of 2021.

He further said that the private sector could also import internationally approved vaccines if it wanted to.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar had in a statement issued on Twitter said that the Cabinet Committee meeting has approved the purchase of 1 million COVID-19 vaccine which will be provided to all front line health workers.

“Authorized procurement of more than 1 million vaccines which will cover all frontline health workers, as soon as DRAP expert committee approves vaccine,” he tweeted.

He added that the government was aiming to deliver the vaccine across the nation during the first few months of 2021.

“Target is to deploy these vaccines within 1st quarter of 2021,” the minister stated.

As per a statement made by the National Command Operation Center (NCOC), Pakistan is in close contact with vaccine manufacturers to obtain a vaccine soon. It may be noted here that Pakistan signed up for the United Nation’s COVAX Facility, a global initiative aimed at equitable access to safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines worldwide.

Furthermore, a National Immunization Management System has been prepared with the joint efforts of the Ministry of Health, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), and the National Information Technology Board (NITB).

 

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Pakistan Air Force - PAF Hospital located at Sector E-9 Islamabad
And yes its open for the general Public anyone can visit.

 

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Under Construction and Extensions of Hospital underway. Soon to be included in the list of serving the people.

1. Establishment of Five 200 bedded mother and children hospitals and Nursing Colleges in Punjab..
2. 500 bedded DHQ Hospital, Chakwal.
3. Sardar Fateh Muhammad Khan Buzdar Institute of Cardiology, Dera Ghazi Khan.
4. Sheikh Zayed Medical Complex - I, II & RHC to THQ . Rahim Yar Khan.
5. Establishment of University Hospital, Lahore.
6. Upgradation of DHQ Hospital , Mianwali.
7. Establishment of Tertiary care Hospital Nishtar , Multan.

 

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Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan inaugurated a new medical ward with 160 beds in Bacha Khan Medical Complex Swabi.

 

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Construction of the basement of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust Hospital in Karachi is progressing at a good pace after a slowdown during the Corona Crisis.
This Shaukat Khanum of Karachi will be the biggest and the most modern cancer center of Pakistan, Insha Allah.

 

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Aga Khan Medical University.
Faculty of Art and Science building near completion.

 

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Chughtai Lab and Pfizer Partner to establish Vaccination Centers across Pakistan

• Chughtai Lab signed an MOU with Pfizer to establish vaccination centers across the country.

Source: Reuters

Chughtai Lab, Pakistan’s leading pathology lab, signed an MOU with Pfizer to improve access to vaccines in Pakistan by establishing vaccination centers across the country.

The MOU signing ceremony was held at Chughtai Lab's Head Office at Jail Road Main Gulberg, Lahore on Tuesday.

Both Chughtai Lab and Pfizer share the same core values of improving the lives of patients through immunization and access to medicines.

Chughtai Lab is collaborating with Pfizer to ensure that their Meningitis and Pneumonia vaccines are available from today.

 

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Punjab to become first province with gene sequencing machine for coronavirus tracing

The genome sequencing machine Pakistan will be buying. Photo: Courtesy Punjab primary and secondary healthcare department

In a first, a genome sequencing machine is being purchased by Punjab to help identify news strains of COVID-19 in the province.

Currently, only the National Institute of Health in Islamabad has such a machine. Samples from positive patients in Punjab were sent to the federal lab if a reading was required.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar approved Rs50 million in funds to buy the genetic sequencing technology.

Globally, scientists have so far identified three variants of the deadly coronavirus.

“Punjab will be the first province to buy a gene sequencing machine,” said Captain (r) Muhammad Usman Younis, secretary of the primary and secondary healthcare department, in a press statement.

The machine will allow investigation of what variants of the virus are causing deaths in the second wave of the pandemic, the statement said.

 

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January 27, 2021

ISLAMABAD: The Covid-19 vaccination drive will start in the country next week, Planning Minister Asad Umar said on Wednesday, as the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) unveils a comprehensive plan to administer the vaccine.

The NCOC – which serves as the nerve centre of the government’s unified effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic – said that the vaccination plan had been developed keeping in view the best global principles and health guidelines.

Asad Umar, who heads the NCOC, said on microblogging website, Twitter, the frontline health workers would be among the first recipients of the vaccine. “God willing, the vaccination of frontline health workers will start next week,” the minister tweeted.

The minister confirmed that the plan for vaccination had been finalised. “The system for vaccination is in place. Hundreds of vaccination centres in the country will be administering covid vaccine,” he added in his tweet.

The announcements came as China has pledged a donation of 500,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine made by the Chinese firm Sinopharm. Two government sources told Reuters that the first batch would be flown in on Saturday.

Pakistan is also expecting more dozes from Covax vaccine sharing platform. A World Health Organization (WHO) official said that the forum would have 25 million doses for the Eastern Mediterranean region in March, rising to 355 million doses by December.


The WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region comprises Middle Eastern countries as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Djibouti. WHO official Yvan Hutin told reporters the first doses provided for the region through Covax would arrive in February.

Earlier on Wednesday, the NCOC unveiled a comprehensive plan to administer the vaccine for the Covid-19 across the country. It said that the vaccine strategy plan had been formulated by the federation in consultation with all provinces and stakeholders.

The plan was adopted in a meeting of the NCOC held in Islamabad. The session was chaired by Asad Umar and attended, among others, by National NCOC Coordinator Lt Gen Hamooduz Zaman Khan and Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood.

The forum was informed that vaccination centres had been established across the country, whereas staff trainings and other arrangements had been completed to kick-start the inoculation of Covid-19 vaccine.

According to an NCOC statement issued here, the National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) will run the drive at the national level through the National Vaccine Administration and Coordination Cell (NVACC), which has been set up in the NCOC.

“All citizens, including frontline healthcare workers, will be able to register by sending their ID card number to 1166 via SMS or NIMS website,” it said. “The goal of the vaccine strategy is to vaccinate people under an integrated system.”

The NIMS system is digital, wherein human intervention is very limited. This system is designed to automatically send scheduled time and other details to the registered citizens. Upon availability of the vaccine, citizens will be sent an SMS, conveying the date of appointment.