JPMC’s helipad operational for air ambulances

After over two decades, a helicopter of the Sindh government landed at the newly-built helipad at Karachi’s Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) on Sunday, paving the way for the transportation of critically injured and sick patients from far-flung areas of Sindh and Balochistan.

“Now, we can have patients brought through public and private air ambulance services,” said JPMC Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali while talking to The News. Strict security arrangements had been made at the JPMC for the landing of the helicopter provided and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had given a no-objection certificate to the JPMC for the landings. The district administration south had arranged a fire brigade to deal with any eventuality.

JPMC’s deputy directors, including Dr Yahya Tunio, Dr Salman and Dr Asadullah, and officials of the Sindh Rangers and police were present on the occasion. Dr Jamali said helicopter ambulances used to bring patients to the JPMC in the 1990s but the helicopter flights discontinued when the condition of the helipad deteriorated.

“The need for having a reinforced helipad at the JPMC reemerged given incidents of explosions in far-flung areas of Sindh and Balochistan. Now patients can be brought to the JPMC within a couple of hours from any area in Sindh and Balochistan,” Dr Jamali added.

Thanking the Sindh government, particularly the health department, Dr Jamali said more services of international standards were being provided at the JPMC “to facilitate a large number of patients who come to Karachi from entire Pakistan as well as abroad for quality treatment”.

JPMC Deputy Director Dr Yahya Tunio said the helipad at the JPMC was a reinforced landing platform “which means that military-grade helicopters, helicopter ambulances and mid-size transport ambulances could also land at the JPMC helipad”.

He said the district administration south would provide a fire tender whenever a helicopter would be landing at the JPMC’s helipad.”The presence of a fire tender and an ambulance is a must when a helicopter lands at any regular helipad.”