Kidney centre being encroached upon, allege professors

Letter to CM

SZH Dean Prof Farid rejects claim, explains administrative position

LAHORE

Several departments have encroached upon the space of the National Institute of Kidney Diseases (NIKD) at Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex, Lahore, it is alleged. 

“The state-of-the-art building of NIKD, with good functioning theatre complex, is being demolished to accommodate Liver Transplantation to ‘facilitate a few blue-eyed persons’ and hence curtailing the facility of Haemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, ICU, operation theatre and outdoor for kidney patients,” reads a letter to CM, Punjab, jointly written by Prof Hafiz Shahzad Ashraf, Head Department of Kidney Transplant Unit, Prof Waqar Ahmad, Head Department of Nephrology, and Dr Muhammad Muzamil Tahir, Head Department of Urology of Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. The letter is also sent to Chief Secretary, Secretary Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education and Administrator of SZH.

“The Chairman/Dean of SZH, who is a Professor of Plastic Surgery, has allocated 50 beds to Plastic Surgery Department on newly-built 3rd floor instead of shifting the Liver Transplant Unit and vacate space for expansion of kidney facilities at NIKD,” said one of the three professors while talking to The News.

The letter says the foundation stone of NIKD was laid down by Prime Minister  Nawaz Sharif in 1998 to provide state-of-the-art facility for patients suffering from kidney, urinary bladder and prostate diseases. As PML-N government was terminated in 1999, the hospital admin allocated space to other departments in NIKD. The foundation stone laid by Nawaz Sharif has also been removed from the building.

This project comprised of dedicated indoor, outdoor patient services, Radiology, Pathology, ICU and Operation theatres for the patients of Urology, Nephrology and Kidney Transplant with 250 beds’ facility for kidney patients. So far more than 600 kidney transplants have been performed with an average of two kidney transplants per week. More than 100 patients per day and 30,000 patients per year get Haemodialysis at NIKD. Yearly over 2,500 urological procedures are performed, which are highest in Punjab.

In spite of all efforts, we are unable to cater the ever-increasing patients of kidney diseases due to paucity of available space and sharing of beds, operation theatres and OPD with other departments.

The departments of Hepaticopancreatobiliary Unit (Arsalan Ward), Neurology and Audiometry are occupying different areas of NIDK including emergency services.

We are running short of space and can’t expand to accommodate new Haemodialysis Unit for HBV positive patients, new patients of ESRD in already established Haemodialysis Unit and Paediatric Urology; installation of first ever precious equipment in public sector hospital of Human Tissue Typing, which could not be installed since years due to non availability of space as well as placement of new machinery procured by Punjab government for Urology and Dialysis up-gradation project.

It was mentioned in the letter that NIKD building is in very good condition, comprising state-of-the-art operation theatres, ICU and wards, doesn’t need any major alteration for next 15 years. It will be a waste of money to make alteration in the building structure. The money, instead, can be used to construct a new building than to demolish and rebuild already functional NIKD building.

They believed that, as third floor at Shaikh Zayed Hospital, had become operational with more than 300 beds, there is ample space to accommodate all the departments occupying different areas of NIKD. They requested Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif to intervene to reduce the sufferings of kidney patients waiting for dialysis, transplant and urological operations and prevent wastage of money; shift all the other departments not related to kidney diseases to newly built 3rd floor and vacate this dedicated facility for kidney centre. 

While talking to The News, they were of the view that NIKD was the only functional dedicated kidney centre in Punjab a kidney centre in Bahawalpur could not see the light of the day and the one in Multan had been handed over to an NGO. They said that at least 50 per cent of all the specialised human resource in Punjab had been produced by this institute, adding that the trainees apprehended loss of a training facility for nephrology, urology and kidney transplantation. 

They believed that the kidney diseases were on the rise in Pakistan as waiting time of four month was being given for surgery and one year for dialysis at NIKD. At Children’s Hospital, they informed, the average waiting time of two years is being given for child patients having renal failure. “It urgently required establishment of Paeds Urology Unit at NIKD,” they added.

When contacted, Chairman/Dean of SZH Prof Farid Ahmad Khan rejected the claims of the faculty members, saying that neither the NIKD was being displaced nor encroached upon by other departments. He said that all the departments (not related to kidney diseases) had been functioning in the building ever since the establishment of NIKD, saying that the administration had, in fact, shifted the cardiac surgery department to third floor of the hospital. “The Liver Transplant has not been shifted on 3rd floor due to absence of operation theatres,” he added. 

He also rejected the claim that a blue-eyed person was being facilitated as ridiculous. 

He informed this correspondent that Rheumatology and Psychiatry Departments had been established, and ENT and Plastic Surgery Departments had been set up separately on 3rd floor, which were earlier functioning in a single department on ground floor. “The vacated space has been given to Paeds Surgery Department,” he added. When asked about the usage of Rs 200 million allocated by Punjab government, he said that the funds would be utilised for establishment of Organ Transplant Unit i.e. both kidney and liver transplants.