KHAIRPUR: Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that the education and health sectors have been given full attention by his government, which has increased budgetary allocations to both of them in order to ensure provision of all essential facilities to the general public.

Mr Shah was speaking at the ceremonies held here on Saturday evening for the inauguration of two new blocks (A and H) of the Khairpur Civil Hospital and laying of the foundation stones of a cardiology centre and a TB hospital.

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The audience was told that the estimated cost of the cardiology centre was Rs460 million and that of the TB hospital Rs160 million.

The chief minister said that 11 new universities, five major district hospitals and 41 taluka hospitals had been established during the PPP’s government in Sindh. Several economic zones had also been established to give a boost to the economic activities, alleviate poverty and generate employment opportunities for the people of Sindh.

H said major hospital projects had been executed in Khairpur, Shikarpur, Tharparkar, Larkana and Badin. He also made mention of an engineering college and a medical university established in Larkana district. The Larkana college, the Z.A. Bhutto campus of the Mehran Engineering University, and the Khairpur Medical College would soon be given the status of university, he added.

Mr Shah referred to certain cases of liver transplant referred to foreign hospitals, and said the provincial government had undertaken to bear the treatment expenses amounting to Rs6 million each. He said steps were being taken to ensure availability of liver and kidney transplant facilities at the Sukkur, Khairpur and Gambat civil hospitals. Thousands of people belonging to these towns and their surrounding areas would be able to benefit from the facilities, he added.

He said that the two new blocks being added to the Sukkur Civil Hospital would have a 50-bedded emergency ward, a trauma centre, a blood bank and the relevant facilities. The MRI, CT scan, memography and other machines were being provided to the hospital.

The chief minister appreciated the services of Dr Adeeb Rizvi and Dr Rahim Bukhsh Bhatti in helping his government provide essential facilities to people in the health sector. He also announced upgrading of the nursing institute of Khairpur.

Sukkur Commissioner Mohammad Abbas Baloch delivered the welcome address. Allotment orders of residential quarters were handed over to professors and paramedics posted at the Khairpur Medical College during the ceremony.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2015

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