As many as 6,000 patients from entire Pakistan daily avail cardiac-care facilities, ranging from OPD consultations to Angiography, Angioplasty procedures, open heart surgeries and different types of implants including mechanical pumps to keep their hearts functioning, at National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) system spread over entire Sindh free of charge. Around 99 percent of those who are benefitted from these services are poor and non-influential patients.
"Daily 6,000 patients from poor and non-influential class of society from entire Pakistan avail quality cardiac-care services at NICVD system spread over entire Sindh province - from Karachi to Ghotki. NICVD system is comprised dozens of Satellites and Chest Pain Units linked to main hospital in Karachi," Executive Director NICVD Professor Nadeem Qamar said in a statement on Saturday.
Professor Nadeem Qamar said NICVD system was now catering to a large number of patients in a single day who were mostly from the poor segment of the society and come from entire Pakistan to Sindh to avail free of charge cardiac-care facilities which were mostly charged in other provinces of the country.
"We are daily serving patients from as far as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, who daily visit NICVD network of hospitals from Sukkur to Karachi to avail free cardiac treatment because they cannot afford costly cardiac services in other provinces of Pakistan," Professor Nadeem Qamar said, adding that not a single penny was charged from the patients for performing world-class procedures and surgeries at the NICVD health system.
Professor Qamar further said all the Cath Labs at main NICVD in Karachi and its satellite centres in Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Mithi, Nawabshah, Sehwan, Larkana, Khairpur, Larkana, and Sukkur were fully functional where both Primary PCI procedures and elective Angiography, Angioplasty services were being provided round the clock without any interruption.
"Similarly, complicated heart surgeries including open heart surgeries are also being performed at NICVD Satellites at Tando Muhammad Khan, Larkana and Sukkur in addition to main NICVD in Karachi on daily basis," Professor Qamar said, adding that not a single rupee was charged from any patient from any part of the country and all health services provided free of charge irrespective of cast, creed and faith at NICVD system.
At the same time, around a dozen Chest Pain Units (CPUs) of NICVD are also functional at different locations in Karachi and Ghotki as well as Tando Bago towns of the province where hundreds of patients are daily provided emergency services in case of chest pain and heart attack, Professor Nadeem Qamar maintained.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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