100 beds each for paeds, gynae wards at Holy Family Hospital

Muhammad Qasim

Rawalpindi: Through readjustment of wards, 100 beds each for paediatrics and gynaecology wards of Holy Family Hospital are being arranged on urgent basis while as many as 50 incubators, 60 baby carts and 10 baby warmers would be provided to paeds department to improve patient care.

To resolve the issue of shortage of staff, a total of 850 vacant seats of doctors and other staff would be filled and in this regard, a summary has been sent to the Punjab chief minister. This was stated by the Federal Minister for National Health Services Aamer Mehmood Kiani in a press conference held here at Holy Family Hospital on Sunday evening.

He said after the prime minister’s surprise visit to the hospital on January 7, he visited the HFH four times on the directives of PM and met with Vice Chancellor of Rawalpindi Medical University Professor Dr. Mohammad Umar to discuss solutions to the problems, the PM had pointed out in delivery of services to the patients.

The minister said that a total of 200 beds are being arranged, 100 for paeds and 100 for gynae wards of the hospital to accommodate patients properly while renovation works is also being initiated to improve services at the hospital.

As many as 100 bathrooms would be renovated while 180 new employees would be inducted to improve sanitation at the HFH, said the minister. He added he has also asked the Punjab government to work for provision of medicines to patients at the hospital on consistent basis. I hope the problem would be resolved shortly, he said.

He said within three days, shelter home at the HFH would be established for accommodation of attendants of patients where the poor attendants would be provided meal twice a day while other work regarding readjustment of wards would hopefully be completed within a week.

He said the ward at the Department of Infectious Diseases is being given to paeds department while offices of consultants and like space would be converted into ward for gynaecology department.

interim head: With no let-up in adhocism, the first government medical university of the federal capital has got another acting head. President Dr Arif Alvi appoints a senior officer of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Iqbal Memon, the acting vice-chancellor of the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University.

The development comes around three months after the retirement of Dr Abid Farooqi, who had headed the university on a temporary basis since first and only permanent SZABMU VC Dr Javed Akram quit in January 2018 on the completion of four years term in office.

A notification issued by the health services ministry said Dr Iqbal Memon, a professor at anaesthesia department of PIMS, will act as the SZABMU vice-chancellor as a temporary arrangement for a period of three months or until the appointment of a regular VC, whichever is earlier, with the immediate effect.

The country's president is the chancellor of the SZABMU.

electric wheelchairs: As part of the Prime Minister's programme to provide electric wheelchairs to disabled students enrolled in institutions of higher education across the country, the Higher Education Commission has asked the universities to furnish the relevant student records.

According to an official of the HEC, the commission has written letters to the countrywide universities to collect the data of students seeking high education despite having an ambulatory disability.

He said an e-portal had also been activated on the HEC's official website to facilitate students to submit online applications.

The official said the universities had been told to send in the verified data of all deserving students with an ambulatory disability, who were enrolled in their courses, including graduate, post-graduate, MS, MPhil or PhD, until June 2019 and thereafter. He said the last date to file that data was Jan 15.

The official said such students studying in any government university or institution authorised to issue degree could avail themselves of the scheme. He added that those seeking admission in the next academic session until 2021 could also apply. The official said the applicants had been asked to attach the requisite documents with applications.

APP adds: Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has principally decided to expand the project of establishing new educational institutions including three model colleges and six schools in the federal capital.

Talking to this agency, an official of the FDE said that the overhauling work in the already established educational institutions would also be initiated.

The summary for the establishment and renovation of educational institutions has been sent to the planning division for approval. The official said that the project would help to achieve the target for mitigating the out of school children ratio under new educational policy.

Last year, several students could not get admissions in the schools due to lack of space, however; with the establishment of new institutions maximum number of children would be able to get benefit from public sector institutions, he remarked.