KARACHI - Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah here on Sunday inaugurated newly-established 200-bed Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital that would start formal operation with 54 beds and within next six weeks it would work at 200-bed capacity.
“I am upgrading its status as Research Centre so that necessary research in the coronavirus and such other diseases can be undertaken, therefore now its name will be Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital & Research Centre,” he said at Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital & Research Centre, NIPA which he inaugurated, said a statement.
He was accompanied by Provincial Health Minister Dr Azra, Provincial Information Minister Nasir Shah.
The 400-bed hospital has been constructed with Rs 1736.36 million at NIPA. After the pandemic, Syed Murad Ali Shah decided to convert it into an infectious disease hospital. He released a special assistance to health department so that the hospital could be made operational. Taking personal interest, the chief minister visited the incomplete structure of the hospital thrice within two months and got its Block A & B completed. The Block-C, ground plus five, is yet to be completed.
Syed Murad Ali Shah handed over the task of execution and management to Dow University of Health Sciences.
The vice chancellor Dow University, Prof Saeed Qureshi personally got all the hospital equipment installed to make it functional.
In the first phase, 200-bed hospital housed in Block-A and B has been completed with a special grant released to the Dow University to functionalise it on most urgent basis.
At present, the works of ground and first floor of Block A & B is complete and has been inaugurated by Sindh Chief Minister with his visit on Sunday.
The work includes the HVAC system which is based upon the principles required for any modern infectious diseases hospital.
In two floors inaugurated by the chief minister, a total 54 beds will be functional as eight-bed ground floor emergency, 16-bed ICU with ventilator support and 34 HDU beds.
In the next, 2nd and 3rd floor which will be made functional within the next 6 weeks there will be 32 ICU beds and 88 HDU beds. In addition to these beds, there are radiology services which include one 500 MA x-ray machine, one mobile X-ray unit, one ultrasound machine and one mobile ultrasound unit. There is a complete pharmacy service including I.V. Admixture Pharmacy.
Machinery and equipment made available in the hospital, include brand new 16 Ventilators, 200 monitors with telemetry system, 50 BIPAP, 10 CPAP, six Defibrillators, six ECG machines, Complete Oxygen, air and vacuum system for each bed with supply from VIE Tank, one Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) Machine and related equipment.
The human resources posted in the hospital in the first phase include one Medical Superintendent, One Additional Medical Superintendent, One Manager (Finance and Accounts), One Assistant Administrator.
Among the clinical staff there is one assistant professor infectious disease, one senior registrar infectious disease, two critical care consultants, three junior critical care consultants, one manger infectious control, one manager nursing, 15 medical officers, nurses, five ICU technicians, four pharmacy technicians, 15 ward boys. Janitorial and security services are contracted out.
The chief minister said that he had established two hospitals for coronavirus patients in Karachi and now other hospitals would be established in every divisional headquarters.
