Rural population to have first ever tertiary care hospital

Islamabad : The rural population in the federal capital is going to have the first ever tertiary care hospital with the help of Saudi Fund for Development at the junction of Park Road and Lehtrar Road at the place called Tramari Chowk falling in Union Council Tarlai.

The Tarlai Hospital mainly a district headquarter hospital like in other districts of the country was named by the planning division as Islamabad General Hospital. The hospital was a long awaited project of Health Department, Islamabad that was conceptualised in 1988 as District Headquarter Hospital and later in Islamabad Development Package its scope was enlarged and it was renamed as Islamabad General Hospital in 2006 and was approved by Planning Commission in the same year.

Since the PC-I needed a huge funding it was sent to the planning commission for approval though in 2015, the Saudi Fund for Development showed willingness to support the project along with few other projects in Pakistan through its grant money. As per Saudi Mission’s statement, it is gift money from the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the People of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Through this project, the government initially intends establishing a 200 bedded Islamabad General Hospital with a total cost of Rs2499.993 million on land measuring 13.07 acres. Later there will be an extension of 300 beds. The hospital planned at the place called Tramari Chowk would have 280,468 sq feet, slightly over 7 acres, covered area, said Additional District Health Officer at Health Department Islamabad Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Durrani while talking to ‘The News’ on Friday.

He added the PC-I of the said project was finalized in March, 2014 after a process of rationalization as per directions of the Planning Division and M/S PEPAC had been awarded the consultancy and the design work has been carried out and finalized.

Giving details, he said the Islamabad General Hospital was a demand of the inhabitants of rural areas of Islamabad and it was an objective of Islamabad Administration and the Health Department to develop a tertiary care hospital in the rural Islamabad with an aim to lessen the ever increasing load of patients at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Federal Government Poly Clinic Hospital in the urban area.

He said the present government has shown keen interest in the project and the Federal Minister for National Health Services Aamer Mehmood Kiani is taking personal interest to expedite the work for the hospital whose boundary wall is complete at the plot and its gates have been installed.

Dr. Durrani said the Economic Affairs Division has informed that Saudi Fund for Development follow up mission is visiting Pakistan for further progress in the matter and the federal minister Aamer Mehmood Kiani has been informed to have a meeting with the Saudi mission in this regard.

He added the federal minister has also launched project of mother and child hospitals in the most congested and thickly populated union councils of Islamabad namely Bharakahu, Rawat and Tarnol through a SAARC countries mutual funds that will

ease ever increasing pressures on the two hospitals, PIMS and Polyclinic Hospital in Islamabad.