Koohi Goth Hospital celebrates treatment of over 1,000 newborn cases

The charitable Koohi Goth Women Hospital in Malir on Sunday celebrated over 1,000 successful treatment of newborns belonging to the poor families of the area at its state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) during the first eight months since the inauguration of the facility.

A ceremony was held on the hospital premises to celebrate this feat of the NICU, which was attended by managers, doctors, paramedical staff, donors, and well-wishers of the health facility.

Speaking on the occasion, Koohi Goth Hospital NICU head Dr Abu Talib said the establishment of the state-of-the-art facility to save the lives of the newborns was like a milestone in serving the less-privileged population of the area.

He added that the NICU of the charitable health facility was comparable with any such unit for the newborns at any of the big private or public sector hospitals in the city.

He said the NICU had successfully managed the multiple health complications of the newborns, including birth anoxia, meconium aspiration, premature birth, low birth weight, neonatal pneumonia, jaundice, sepsis and down syndrome.

“Had it not been for this neonatal facility in this far-flung area of Karachi, the very survival of all the newborns would have been in grave danger in case of referring them to the other bigger hospitals in the city,” said Dr Abu Talib.

He maintained that the newborns had remained under treatment at the NICU for a period ranging from five to 22 days. Dr Tipu Sultan of Zafar & Atia Foundation Charitable Trust, which manages the Koohi Goth Hospital, said the NICU had been providing free-of-charge health services as otherwise availing such a facility could have cost Rs25,000 per day per patient, which the people of the area would not be able to afford.

He said the state-of-the-art equipment worth Rs500 million had been available at the NICU, and added that soon the in-patient treatment facility of the health facility would be increased from 200 beds to 400 beds. He said all the modern health treatment facilities being provided at the hospital spreading over 16 acres of land were due to donations of various philanthropists.

Industrialist Abdullah Feroz said soon a 24-bed oral cancer treatment facility would be launched exclusively for woman cancer patients in the area. He urged the philanthropists and businessmen to come forward to support such projects.