Long-awaited cardiac facility advertises positions

PESHAWAR: Finally steps have been taken to make operational the much-delayed Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC) as positions have been advertised and a noted thoracic surgeon Dr Syed Shahkar Ali Shah has been appointed the medical director.

The Board of Governors (BoG) advertised the positions and selected Dr Shahkar Ali Shah as medical director.

The six-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government had announced the project in 2008 but the then chief minister Akram Khan Durrani had failed to allocate funds or take practical steps to establish the cardiac centre. Many reasons constantly delayed this 300-bed cardiac facility. The lack of interest of the successive governments, including the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), court litigations and insufficient funds were stated to be some of the reasons. The sources in the government told The News that Prime Minister Imran Khan had lately taken interest in the issue and directed Finance Minister Taimur Salim Jhagra to release funds required for procurement of equipment for the PIC.

The sources said Chief Secretary Dr KazimNiaz soon after his appointment took personal interest in the PIC and held several meetings to ensure that this important project should no longer be delayed.

Dr Kazim Niaz had reportedly directed all relevant quarters to extend maximum facilitation in releasing funds and operationalisation of the PIC.

Dr Hameed Afridi, a member of the BoG of PIC, confirmed to this correspondent that they had received maximum funds required for equipment procurement.

He said they were planning to make PIC functional in June this year. If this happens, the PIC would have been operationalized after 12 long years.

The BoG had advertised most of the jobs except dean and faculty members.

However, Dr Shahkar’s selection as medical director has raised eyebrows as some senior medical experts said it would be a challenge for the thoracic surgeon who is over 60 years old to select his team and start the mega health facility.

“Dr Shahkar is classified as a thoracic surgeon, not a cardiac surgeon, by the cardiac surgery circles and CPSP, because he did his FRCS in general surgery. And like Dr Riaz Anwar, Dr Shahkar has no classified fellowship in cardiac surgery,” said one senior consultant in Peshawar. “Still I wish the best of luck to Dr Shahkar and PIC, and pray for their success in the best interest of cardiac surgery patients in KP,” he added. Sources privy to the selection process, however, defended his selection, arguing that he would have 80 percent of his role of an administrator and 20 percent healthcare as mentioned in the job specification for the medical director.

Dr Shahkar initially served at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar. He resigned when the government in 2001 made it compulsory for the doctors to start the institution-based private practice (IBP).

He later worked at the private sector Rahman Medical Institute (RMI) in Peshawar. Subsequently, he shifted to Islamabad to work in a private hospital. One of his tasks would be to develop standards for units. According to sources, some foreign qualified cardiologists and cardiac surgeons had also applied for some positions in PIC.

It would be good news for the cardiac patients in KP once PIC is made functional.

Currently, there is only one unit in the entire public sector in KP where cardiac surgeries are performed.

The unit, established by noted cardiologist and Pakistan’s lone electro-physiologist Prof Zahid Aslam Awan in the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), Peshawar is functioning under public-private partnership. Dr Zahid Awan had convinced a young Pakistani cardiac surgeon, Dr Mohammad Aasim, to quit his job at an international hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan and start his unit at the HMC.

In two years and 25 days, Dr Aasim alone did 705 cardiac surgeries in his HMC unit. The only cardiac surgery department established years ago in Peshawar had been closed due to certain issues and is yet to be reopened. Patients requiring cardiac surgeries have to wait till 2022 and beyond if they wanted Dr Aasim to operate on them as his waiting list is going longer with each passing day. Ex-chief secretary Mohammad Azam Khan had played an instrumental role in getting approval for the two mega projects in health sector, PIC and the 120-bed Burns and Trauma Centre in Peshawar.

The Burns and Trauma Centre started functioning almost a year ago. Its project director Prof Mohammad Tahir Khan used his contacts and worked hard to establish the Burns Centre.

The story of the PIC is one of incompetence, neglect and wrong priorities of successive governments in KP. As mentioned, its foundation stone was laid years ago by the then chief minister Akram Khan. Akram Durrani used to take the credit for the PIC but he failed to make any progress on the project. The Awami National Party-Pakistan People’s Party coalition government and the one led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaflater also neglected the project. Funds were delayed for the project and some of the money meant for PIC was shifted to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

In contrast, construction work was launched on the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology in 2010 and it started functioning in 2012. It is a centre of excellence providing quality treatment to heart patients. Unfortunately, the number of heart patients is rising alarmingly but there is no dedicated centre for heart diseases in KP. In Punjab, there are four heart hospitals in Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad. LRH and HMC are only public sector hospitals having cardiac units but these are inadequate to cater to a population of more than 30 million in KP.