Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Psychiatry & Behavioural Sciences dept,
Neurology & Stroke unit at JPMC
KARACHI (Aug 19): Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that, on the instructions of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, his government has been covering the operational costs of the Cyberknife unit since 2018. Now, we have provided them with a new state-of-the-art Cyberknife system worth $4.1 million.
He said this on Monday while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of two cutting-edge medical facilities at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC): the 120-bed Rashid Soorty Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Sciences and the 110-bed Saif-ul-Islam Department of Neurology & Stroke unit by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
The ceremony was attended by Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, provincial ministers, Secretary of Health, Executive Director of JPMC Prof. Shahid Rasool, Head of the Cyberknife Unit Dr. Tariq Mahmood, Chairman of HEC Sindh Prof. Tariq Rafi, and others.
New Cyberknife: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that, on the guidance of Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the provincial government has achieved another significant milestone in a successful public-private partnership between the Sindh government and Patients’ Aid Foundation. The Sindh government donated a new state-of-the-art Cyberknife system worth $4.1 million to the Patients’ Aid Foundation to handle the growing workload,” he said.
The Sindh govt has authorized the Patients’ Aid Foundation for the operational autonomy of the Radiation Oncology Section through an agreement, Murad Shah said. He added that these new free-of-charge facilities would be a great help for patients needing Psychiatry, Neurology, and Radiation oncology services.
The CM said that with these new additions, JPMC ranks among the world’s top 10 centers for cancer treatment with radiation. “Now, It houses two Cyberknifes and two Tomotherapy units under one roof,” he said and added it was also the only center globally that offered free Cyberknife and Tomotherapy treatment, irrespective of nationality, religion, or ethnicity.
Murad Shah said that 15 countries and 167 cities in Pakistan have benefited from these free facilities.
Cyberknife is widely recognized for its use in brain and spinal tumours. Nowadays, it is the preferred treatment for stage-1 prostate cancer, the CM said and added that the new unit features IRIS & MLC, allowing procedures to be completed in 20 minutes. Previously, the older unit took over 90 minutes to complete the same procedures.
Sindh CM Murad Shah stated that the Sindh government, under the guidance of the PPP chairman, is dedicated to providing world-class cancer care within the country. This initiative aims to cater specifically to Pakistani citizens who cannot afford costly treatments abroad.
Murad Shah informed the PPP Chairman that due to the exceptional free services offered at JPMC, the Sindh government has granted operational autonomy to the Patients’ Aid Foundation.
“This move allows the foundation to oversee the Radiation Oncology Section independently, fostering growth and introducing new technologies,” he said.
Talking about medical insurance, the chief minister said that his government was being advised to ensure all the citizens so that they could avail medical treatment in private hospitals. He went on to say that to ensure the citizens means to give a 25 per cent profit margin to private hospitals and a 25 percent profit to the Insurance company.
Instead of giving 50 percent of funds in the shape of profit to the private hospitals and the Insurance companies, why should we not strengthen our government hospitals where free-of-cost treatment, even for cancer patients, is being provided around the clock,” he said.
Minister Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said that in 2020, the Patients Aid Foundation introduced the cancer treatment technology Tomotherapy in Pakistan. “Fifty patients are treated every day using this technology, and a second Tomotherapy unit is currently being installed,” she said..
Head of the Cyberknife Unit Dr. Tariq Mahmood told the Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto that Cyberknife offered curative treatment for early-stage tumours with radiation without pain or anaesthesia.
This facility was introduced in 2012 at JPMC by the Patients Aid Foundation through its donors but could only serve four patients daily. Due to increased demand, they upgraded the Cyberknife in 2015 and started treating four patients daily. In 2018, due to increased patient demand, the Patients Aid Foundation arranged a second Cyberknife unit through donors Nayyar and Yaqoob Ahmed, on which they are treating 12 cases daily and the Sindh government started paying the operational cost. In 2016-17, the Patients Aid Foundation also arranged a free PET-CT scan facility and a Radiotherapy unit, Equinox 100 treating around 80 patients daily.
In 2020, the Patients Aid Foundation introduced the cancer treatment technology Tomotherapy in Pakistan. Fifty patients are treated every day using this technology, and a second Tomotherapy unit is currently being installed.
Psychiatry & Neurology Building: Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurated the New Rashid Soorty Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Sciences. It has 120 inpatient beds, making it the largest mental health facility. It has 17 rooms for OPD on the ground floor, entertaining around 650 patients daily. Its first floor has faculty offices and special clinics, and the second to fourth has 40 beds on each floor for inpatients, including a dedicated floor for women and children.
It may be recalled that the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Sciences at JPMC was serving in a 60-year-old building with few rooms for OPDs and only 30 inpatient beds.
The new 110-bed Saif-ul-Islam Department of Neurology & Stroke unit, inaugurated by Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto also has 17 rooms for OPD on the ground floor, entertaining around 600 patients daily. This facility also has faculty offices and special clinics, including Video EEG, EMG, and Plasmapheresis.
It has a 55-bed inpatient facility for Neurology on the second floor and a 55-bed stroke unit/ICU on the third floor. These facilities will address the needs of mental health and neurological care for many needy patients.
It is worth mentioning that the Department of Neurology also served in a 60-year-old building, which had a very cramped facility for OPD patients. There was no space for stroke patients.