KARACHI: Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab inaugurated a newly restored Cath Lab at the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD) and announced new health initiatives to improve public access to medical services.
Speaking at the ceremony, the mayor said the reopening of the Cath Lab was a major step, as the facility had remained closed for years. “Every minute is critical for a heart patient. Earlier, people had to depend only on NICVD, but now KIHD’s Cath Lab is fully functional again,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad, City Council’s Deputy Parliamentary Leader Dil Muhammad, Jaman Darwan, doctors and paramedical staff were also present.
The mayor said that since the PPP took charge of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, more than 3,000 heart surgeries and 240 angioplasties had been conducted at KIHD in one year. “Just yesterday, 13 patients underwent successful heart procedures,” he added.
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Mr Wahab also announced that a fully free laboratory would be launched at KIHD within two months. The lab will provide costly diagnostic tests at no charge. He said the equipment for the lab had already arrived in Pakistan and preparations were in the final stage.
Updating on other health projects, the mayor said the Shah Faisal Colony Cardiac Centre was being revived and a new block at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital would open within one to two months.
He further said that after the successful restoration of Spencer Eye Hospital, over 200 eye surgeries had been carried out, while the North Karachi Children’s Hospital was being placed under the Sindh government’s direct control to improve its services.
