Interview with Professor Nadeem Qamar — Executive Director, NICVD
Profile:
Professor Nadeem Qamar is known for his outstanding contribution in the field of Medicine – Cardiology and for his untiring endeavour to provide healthcare to the population of Pakistan. In a career spanning 36 years, he has been involved in Interventional Cardiology as a practicing Consultant, Faculty and Researcher, having trained more than 1,200 Post-Graduates/Fellows at National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD). He has had a 27 years long and enduring journey with NICVD. After earning an MBBS degree from Liaquat College, Jamshoro, he went abroad to complete his residency in Internal Medicine from Franklin Square Hospital, USA and received his fellowship in Cardiology and Angioplasty from McGill University Canada and Ottawa Heart Institute Canada respectively.
When he took over as the Executive Director of NICVD in February 2015, he inherited a hospital that had witnessed 30 years of deterioration. Professor Qamar graciously took up the challenge of transforming the NICVD, and initiated a change management process to fix the entire system. Professor Nadeem Qamar clearly understood the need for professional management to support his vision therefore, he adopted a corporate structure, engaging a healthcare trained professional management team.
He spearheaded this mammoth task of turning around the NICVD, and with the confidence and endless support of the Government of Sindh, NICVD embarked on this journey to ensure that every move of the NICVD has to be driven towards one objective — the ‘Patient-Centric Approach’. NICVD focused all energies towards making the impossible possible with compassion for the suffering patients and their families.
In a short span of last 5 years, 34 NICVD hospitals and Chest Pain Units have been established, including 10 full-fledged hospitals and 24 Chest Pain Units across the province, providing 24/7 state-of-the-art treatment and best patient care services totally free of cost to the entire nation. The efforts of the professional management team, have made NICVD, world’s largest cardiac healthcare network.
PAGE: Could you tell me about the monetary requirements of NICVD over the course of next one year?
Professor Nadeem Qamar: Rs. 22.71 billion.
PAGE: Could you tell us about donation and zakat sent by Pakistani diaspora?
Professor Nadeem Qamar: NICVD gets nominal donations.
PAGE: What activities have been done by NICVD over the course of preceding year to benefit the impoverished?
Professor Nadeem Qamar: NICVD System treated over 2.2 million patients, totally free of cost, in 2022.
- A record number of 19,888 primary angioplasties were performed at NICVD system, during 2022
- A total of 3,641 open heart surgeries were performed at NICVD Karachi, Sukkur, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad and Larkana, free of cost.
- The program of interventions in acute stroke, has been started first time in Pakistan in public sector and saving many patients from getting a brain stroke. A total of 102 stroke intervention procedures have been done so far.
- NICVD recently added the latest equipment in Cardiac Imaging and Cardiac Echo and Highly qualified Echo cardiographers have joined NICVD and now NICVD has the best program for the country.
- All the services available anywhere in the world, have been added to the Electrophysiology Department at NICVD and its satellite centers.
- NICVD has the largest paediatric cardiology program in Pakistan. NICVD provides state of the art paediatric cardiology services. Covering every child across the province; including the poorest of the poor patients from areas, such as; Mithi, Sehwan and other parts of the province.
- Paediatric Cardiac Surgeries, Paediatric Cardiac Interventions, Paediatric Echocardiography and Paediatric Electrophysiology services are providing not only at NICVD Karachi but also at all Satellite Centers. These are the poorest of the poor patients and NICVD feel proud to provide them with free of cost treatment.
- International standards of nursing care set up, with 1:1 nurse: patient ratio in all critical care areas.
- Launched a Comprehensive Preventive Cardiology Program to rule out risk factors related to the development of early heart diseases thereby promoting a heart-healthy Pakistan.
- Introduced the first public sector Multidisciplinary Cardiac Rehabilitation facility in Pakistan at NICVD Karachi.
- NICVD established chest pain units in Mirpurkhas and Shikarpur in 2022, after establishment of two more chest pain units, now NICVD has 24 chest pain units across Sindh Province, providing emergency cardiac care to patients. Over 1 million patients were treated in these units, out of whom 22,443 patients were having heart attack, after giving them first aid, they were transported to main NICVD’s centres for primary angioplasty.
PAGE: Could you elaborate on the expansion strategy of NICVD?
Professor Nadeem Qamar: Expansion Of Infrastructure: With the number of patients growing every day, we feel it is imperative to expand our infrastructure by establishing new buildings to provide world class facilities to cardiac patients. The future program includes; establishment of world largest cardiac hospital with 1200 beds (Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases) at Landhi, an independent out-patient wing and separate Paediatric Cardiology Institute.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases
NICVD Chest Pain Units across the province.
The Chest Pain Unit is unique program in the whole world. It provides first aid care to patient with chest pain and related disorders. The Units are well-equipped with the facility of doctor, nurse and the appropriate diagnostic testing available to identify patients with an acute heart attack.
The following Chest Pain Units are located in Karachi:
- Under Gulshan-e-Chowrangi Flyover, Karachi
- Under Malir Halt Flyover, Karachi
- Under Qayyumabad Chowrangi, Karachi
- Under Nagan Chowrangi Flyover, Karachi
- At I. I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi
- At Landhi, Karachi
- Under Karimabad Flyover, Karachi
- At Orangi Town, Karachi
- Under Gizri Flyover, Karachi
- At New Karachi
- At Moosa Lane, Lyari
- Under Manzil Pump Flyover (Quaidabad), Karachi
- At Cantonment, Karachi
- At Keamari, Karachi
- At ASF, Medical Centre, Karachi
- At Malir Cantonment, Karachi
- At Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD), Karachi
The following Chest Pain Units are located outside Karachi:
- Ghotki
- Tando Bago (Badin)
- Jacobabad
- Umerkot
- Tando Allahyar
- Mirpukhas
- Shikarpur
The chest pain units will be established in Kashmore and Thatta, very soon.