President pays surprise visit to NICH, 'pained' by state of affairs.

Byline: Imran Ayub

KARACHI -- President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday vowed to discuss the expansion plan of the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) with Prime Minister Imran Khan which, he said, was badly needed while more such facilities should be set up in Sindh.

Talking to reporters after a surprise visit to the NICH, President Alvi expressed disappointment over the state of healthcare affairs in the province and called his stroll around the largest health facility for children in the province 'a painful experience.'

'I decided to pay surprise visit for different reasons,' he said. 'It gives you real picture and allowed interaction with those people who are actually going through different experiences at the hospital. No one was aware about my visit which helped me look into the real state of affairs. The director Dr Jamal Raza gave me detailed briefing and apprised me of several issues. But the most painful experience was to see five children being treated [on] one bed. This is very unfortunate.'

He said that the NICH badly needed expansion and for that matter several proposals were discussed with the hospital's high-ups, who pointed out a few options along these lines. He referred to several open pieces of land around the NICH which were owned by the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Post and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). On a small piece of land, Dr Alvi believed, a huge vertical structure could lead to major relief for the people of Karachi and the rest of Sindh.

Says facility should be expanded to cater to more patients

'After the fire incident in NICH, I was actually suggested by Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit public sector hospitals which poor people [frequent] the most. So, several suggestions and opinions came up under our discussion. I would now take them to prime minister and we would look into them to come up with better solution,' he added.

He said the NICH and two other major hospitals - Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and National Institute of...

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