Most number of corona tests BKMC Swabi becomes second KP hospital

PESHAWAR: The Bacha Khan Medical Complex (BKMC) Swabi, a tertiary care hospital of Gajju Khan Medical College (GKMC), has become the second hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that conducted the maximum number of corona investigations and didn’t charge patients, doctors said on Tuesday.

Hospital Director Dr Khalid Masud said the hospital in one and a half-years worked on an emergency basis to develop a state-of-the-art laboratory when the corona pandemic hit the country.

Dr Khalid Masud said the Board of Governors (BoG) of the hospital played a key role in developing the latest services and improving patient care.

“In the past one and a half years, the BKMC has undertaken more than 80,000 investigations and didn’t charge patients.

This is the second highest number of investigations done in the hospital in KP,” he said. The corona laboratory was established in June 2020, where swabs of patients were sent from other districts, including Swat, Buner and Mansehra.

Dr Khalid said they were happy to have restored trust of the people in the public sector hospital, saying the services were improved after it was declared a Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) run by the Board of Governors.

Dr Asim, head of Virology Department, said they would soon start investigations of hepatitis B and C in the hospital laboratory.

He is one of the few qualified pathologists and has done FCPS in microbiology. After the Khyber Medical University (KMU), the Bacha Khan Medical Complex laboratory has become the second laboratory known for quality of services and biosafety level.

Also, the Bacha Khan Medical Complex laboratory is known for 100 percent accuracy and quality assurance.

Dr Asim said they were ready to start PCR of hepatitis B and C and HIV in the hospital laboratory.

He said that in the private laboratories, patients were being charged between Rs6000 and Rs8000 for each PCR investigation.

However, he said they would conduct the investigation free of charge in the hospital’s laboratory.