40-bed ENT ward inaugurated at JPMC

Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), on Monday inaugurated another unit of the facility's ENT ward comprising 40 beds at the public health facility.

Without using any Sindh government’s funds, the unit is established under a public-private partnership.

“Another ENT unit, which has been designated as Ward 27 of the JPMC, has been inaugurated to facilitate growing number of patients,” Dr Seemin Jamali told The News after the inauguration ceremony.

The newly-established ward would be comprised of 40 beds and an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where patients after neck, throat and ear surgeries would be admitted, she said, adding that the ward had been equipped with latest equipment and facilities.

ENT specialist Prof Dr Muhammad Usman would be heading the ENT Unit II, she said, adding that senior registrars, postgraduate trainees and paramedical staff had been deployed to facilitate the patients at the new ward.

“The high care area of this ward is fully air-conditioned and could be used in case of heat emergency as chillers have also been donated for the ward,” she said.

According to her, the growing number of ENT patients at the JPMC forced the management to establish another ward.

“We are also upgrading two more wards at the hospital keeping in view the upcoming heatwave like situation and would be able to keep patients at cool wards,” she added.

With the addition of 40 new beds to the JPMC, the total number of beds has risen to 1,650 at the tertiary-care hospital, making it one of the largest hospitals in the country.

Head of the ENT II ward, Dr. Muhammad Usman, on the occasion thanked the hospital administration for its support. He said although equipment and machinery was donated by some philanthropists, most of the resources, including human resource, came from the JPMC for the establishment of the ward.

“The burden of ENT patients at the JPMC is increasing with every day passing as people are coming with throat and mouth cancers, deaf due to noise pollution and various conditions of nose and nasal cavity. In the coming days, we may need to expand this ward further as people from entire Pakistan are coming for treatment,” Dr Usman added.

He lauded the support of philanthropists in creation of another ward and hoped that more such people would come forward and help renovate and establish new wards and sections.