Prime Minister (PM) Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday said the government was working on the prevention, control and treatment of hepatitis on priority basis and Rs 14 billion had been invested in this regard. He added that the establishment of a centre for liver diseases and liver transplant at PIMS was a step forward towards the treatment of this disease.
He expressed these views while talking to a delegation of London Royal Free Hospital, who called on him at the PM’s House and discussed the establishment of a liver transplant centre at PIMS Hospital to provide the best facilities at an affordable cost to people. The PM said people at present had to go abroad to have liver transplants, which was very expensive and not possible for the common man.
He said Pakistani doctors had already successfully undertaken liver transplant surgery at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore, and the government intended to set up a state of the art facility for liver transplant in Islamabad as well. He directed the Capital Development and Development Division (CADD) to take immediate steps to expedite the setting up of the centre for liver transplant at PIMS.
The CADD secretary apprised the meeting that PIMS provided indoor and outdoor liver treatment, including provision of equipment, drugs and execution of minor surgeries. He said hepatitis B and C patients were provided a complete set of third generation hepatitis drugs.
Earlier, the head of the delegation of doctors assured the PM that the team was ready to help Pakistan in establishing the Liver Transplant Centre at PIMS. They expressed satisfaction about the quality of equipment, the ongoing treatment facility for liver diseases, and the civil work of the centre.
The Royal Hospital’s delegation, consisting of Business Development Director Alison Shutt, Consultant Surgeon Massimo Malago, Consultant Surgeon Guiseppe Fusal, Consultant Anesthetist Colin Beard and Operating Theatre Sister Angeline Shoniwa, is in Islamabad imparting training related to liver transplantation.
Capital Administration and Development Division Secretary Junaid Iqbal Chaudhry, PIMS Centre for Liver Disease and Liver Transplant Unit Project Director Prof Aftab Mohsin, PIMS ED Prof Mahmood Jamal and other senior officers were also present in the meeting.
