RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has urged the federal government to complete pending work on the Rawalpindi Mother and Child Hospital before handing it over to provincial authorities.

A senior official of the health department told Dawn that there were two proposals to make the hospital functional. One was to convert it into a general hospital to lessen the burden on three main hospitals of the garrison city including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital.

The second was to dedicate the health facility for just gynaecology and paediatrics services only.

The project worth Rs2.5 billion was launched in 2005.

The then-prime minister Shaukat Aziz had laid its foundation on April 8, 2005.

The project was the brainchild of former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

According to the project design, the 200-bed hospital to be equipped with modern facilities would facilitate the patients of the city and cantonment areas.

A nursing school would also be established at the hospital. There was also a plan to establish a chest-related diseases centre to deal with cases of TB and breast cancer.

However, work on the project was halted soon after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government came into power in Punjab in 2008.

During the two tenures of PML-N in the province, the work did not start.

Before the 2018 elections, the then-chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar visited the site and directed the authorities concerned to complete the construction of the hospital within a year.

The construction work started again soon after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government rose to power in the centre and Punjab. But despite being in power for four years, the PTI government failed to complete the project.

The project cost has also escalated from Rs2.5 billion to Rs5.25 billion due to prolonged delays.

The construction work is almost completed and the installation of machinery, construction of operation theatres and hiring of staff is yet to be completed.

On Saturday, Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Azmat Mahmood visited the Mother and Child Hospital.

Azmat Mahmood also visited the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute, inspected various wards and operation theatres and reviewed the medical facilities.

He also chaired a meeting in which steps were discussed to improve the hospital management information system.

During his visit, Special Secretary Operations Tariq Mahmood, Additional Secretary Technical Dr Muhammad Waseem, Additional Secretary Development Dr Waheed Asghar and other officers were also present.

Last month, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the provincial government wanted to complete the Mother and Child Hospital on Asghar Mall Road within a year and would also increase the number of beds from 200 to 400.

She stated this during her visit to the long-stalled federal government project. The minister reviewed details regarding the handover of the project by the federal government to the provincial government.

Members of the National Assembly Tahira Aurangzeb, Hanif Abbasi and Malik Abrar Ahmed, besides Rawalpindi Medical University Vice Chancellor Dr Mohammad Umar and Commissioner Aamir Khattak were also present during her visit.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2025