Centre to run Karachi’s major hospitals through board of governors

KARACHI: The federal government has planned to run Karachi’s three major hospitals through a board of governors, which would comprise representatives from the civil society, the pharmaceutical industry and philanthropists to ensure service delivery and transparency on the pattern of Lahore’s Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Karachi’s Aga Khan University Hospital.

The Centre recently acquired control of Karachi’s Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and National Institute of Child Health (NICH) after the Supreme Court rejected the Sindh government’s appeal to let these institutions continue functioning under the province’s control in accordance with the 18th constitutional amendment.

According to the initial plan, a board of governors will be constituted to oversee the functioning, performance and transparency of the JPMC, the NICVD and the NICH, while Sindh Governor Imran Ismail will monitor the affairs of these facilities on a regular basis.

The role of the private sector, especially NGOs, will be enhanced, while hospital management experts from private institutions as well as from overseas will be hired, officials have hinted, saying that the federal authorities may approach Karachi’s industrialists and philanthropists to finance the services and facilities at these hospitals.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan is very keen to run the JPMC, the NICVD and the NICH on the pattern of the Shaukat Khanum and Aga Khan hospitals,” Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination Aamir Mehmood Kiani told a delegation of pharmaceutical industry representatives on Saturday.

“The federal government is planning on constituting a board of governors comprising representatives from the civil society in Karachi, local philanthropists and nominees from the pharmaceutical industry to oversee these hospitals’ performance.”

Kiani and President Arif Alvi arrived in Karachi on Friday and held back-to-back meetings at the Governor House with the JPMC’s Dr Seemin Jamali, the NICVD’s Prof Nadeem Qamar and the NICH’s Prof Jamal Raza, as well as Jinnah Sindh Medical University Vice-Chancellor Prof Tariq Rafiq, seeking details of the city’s three major hospitals.

Talking to the pharmaceutical industry representatives, Kiani said the Centre is ready to provide around Rs13 billion to run the JPMC, the NICVD and the NICH, but they will not be governed in the same manner as they are being run currently.