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Better facilities will be provided to NICVD: Kasi

KARACHI: Federal Health Minister, Dr. Abdul Malik Kasi, has assured that efforts will be made to provide better facilities at the National Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases (NICVD).

Presiding over a meeting of the institute's governing body here on Monday, Dr. Kasi said the government, with the help of philanthropists, will overcome its financial crisis and the hurdles being faced by its administration.

Earlier the executive director NICVD, Prof. Azhar Farooqi, briefed the minister about the institute's working and performance and highlighted the support of the federal government and private donors in its management.

He pointed out that NICVD is the country's largest cardiac centre where latest diagnostic and medical facilities are provided to patients from across the country at nominal charges.

The institute, he informed, has 351 beds with three medical wards, one surgical ward, a paediatric ward, two coronary units and one intensive care unit. He said the daily attendance at OPD is around 1,200 patients.

Prof. Farooqi said about 1,200 Cath studies are carried out every year, besides an average 675 open heart surgeries and 410 close heart surgeries including coronary artery bypass grafting, valve replacement, mitra commissuortormy and complicated congenital heart being carried out every year.

He further informed that 400 thallium test and more 10,000 echocardiograms are carried out annually including about 75,000 electrocardiograms, 24,000 x-rays and 2,500 exercise tolerance tests are also informed yearly.

He also informed about working of special clinics including pacemaker, hypertension and anticoagulant clinics.

Prof Farooqi said that over the last two decades, the NICVD's work load has increased ten-fold.

He apprised the meeting about training and teaching activities at the institute and briefed it about two new angiography laboratories, a new emergency department and a new telephone exchange established at NICVD.

He said at present the NICVD is faced with financial crisis as well as staff shortage.

The governing body took important policy decisions regarding future projects for the institute and other financial and administrative matters.

The meeting was attended, among others, by federal health secretary, director general health Maj Gen Ahsan Ahmed (Retd) besides Ejaz Rahim, Ilyas Ahmed Bilour, Syed Fasih Iqbal, Prof Anita Ghulam Ali etc. APP