NUMS Medical City to provide healthcare to 12m people

Rawalpindi : Lt General Nigar Johar, HI(M) Surgeon General DGMS(IS) called on Vice Chancellor of the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Lt Gen (r) Syed Muhammad Imran Majeed HI(M), here Monday and was briefed on a multi-billion rupees planned Medical City in Sector I-17, which would provide healthcare to over 12 million people of Islamabad, Rawalpindi Division, Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Northern Areas.

TheMedical City worth an estimated cost of Rs370,00 billion ($2.4billion), will spread over 1,000 acres of land already allotted by CDA for the purpose after the approval of the Cabinet in 2018.

NUMS Medical City will be funded through public private partnership, foreign direct investment and other sources of funding. During the briefing Surgeon General was told that the Medical City would be completed in four phases spreading over 25 years. She was briefed about other projects of the university as well. While appreciating the university’s plans to improve the healthcare facilities in the country, she “specifically mentioned that the establishment of NUMS Medical City will not only meet the dire need of healthcare facilities in Pakistan but will also provide ample opportunities for Research and Development in medical sciences.”

The first phase of the Medical City will be completed in five years with the completion of 500 beds hospital coupled with Medical, Nursing, Allied Health Professionals Institutes and allied facilities. The second phase will be accomplished in 7 years in which 1000 more beds hospitals will be added. The third phase will add 1000 beds hospitals in 7 years while the final phase would be completed in 6 years with an addition ofanother 1500 beds and the associated facilities.

The country currently requires a minimum of 638,460 beds in hospitals to deliver healthcare to the existing population while there are only 132,227 beds available which come to 62 beds per 100,000 indicating an acute shortage of hospital beds which are much lower than the generally accepted international standard which ranges above 300 beds per 100,000.

The Pro- Vice Chancellor Academics Maj Gen (r) Saleem Ahmed Khan, HI(M) and Pro-Vice Chancellor Administration Maj Gen (r) Syed Ammar Reza Hamdani HI(M), were also present during the briefing.