PESHAWAR, Dec 10: Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has said that 50 per cent of patients will be provided free treatment at the Institute of Cardiology in the provincial metropolis. Speaking at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the 300-bed Institute of Cardiology at the Hayatabad township on Saturday, the chief minister said that the institute would be built over an area of 30 kanals, which would be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

Provincial ministers Hussain Ahmad Kanju and Fazle Rabbani, Dr Zakir Shah, District Nazim Ghulam Ali, Health Secretary Abdus Samad Khan, Dr Nasiruddin, Dr Mohammad Hafizullah and Dr Riaz Anwar Khan also spoke on the occasion.

Mr Durrani said that the MMA government had started upgrading district headquarters hospitals to provide treatment facilities to people in their respective areas.

He urged doctors to be sympathetic to patients and asked them not to send them to private laboratories for investigations. In this connection, he said that those found involved in malpractice would be taken to task.

He said the government was making all out efforts to put in place all the diagnostic facilities at public sector hospitals.

Earlier, cardiologist Dr Mohammad Hafizullah said that the country was recording an increase in the number of cardiac patients and stressed the need for more facilities. The existing facilities in the province weren’t enough to cater to the needs of the patients, he said.

About the institute, he said that 50 per cent of the poor patients would be given free treatment and the rest would be provided treatment at discounted rates.

At present, he said that 900 patients suffering from heart ailments were being treated from the Zakat fund. A total of Rs55 million had been spent on the treatment of patients in the last three years, he said.

Dr Hafizullah said that about 8,000 people had been treated as indoor patients.

He said that presently the cardiology department had only 30 beds, which was extremely less given the fact that the 800 operations were needed to be performed per year. The target could not be achieved because of the shortage of doctors and operating tables at the department.

With the institute of cardiology the department would be able to operate upon about 1,500 patients a year.

He said that the federal government had provided Rs46 million from the Zakat fund, while the provincial government had released Rs20 million for the purchase of equipment.

Dr Riaz Anwar Khan said that trained staff, including nurses and paramedics, would be appointed at the institute. He said that they were organizing seminars and workshops to raise the level of awareness of the people regarding causative agents of the cardiac problems.