The residents of the areas which now comprises of Pakistan have been playing an extra ordinary role when it comes to philanthropy. They have created educational as well as healthcare units. One of the outstanding example of private-public partnership is Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT). At almost all the government hospitals Patients’ Welfare Associations are performing the leading role. Following are some of the examples, which are not exhaustive.
Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation
Four decades ago SIUT started its journey as an eight bed ward in Burns Unit of Civil Hospital Karachi. Gradually this small ward expanded its activities clinically and physically. In 1991 it was granted the status of an Institute by an Act of the Sindh Assembly.
In 2005 SIUT Trust was created as a charitable trust for the benefit of the public aiming to provide medical facilities and financial assistance to those who are at the end stage of renal ailments.
SIUT is located in the vicinity of Civil Hospital of Karachi with its hub of activities taking place at Dewan Farooq Medical Complex, named after a generous philanthropist whose donation helped built the complex.
In recent years, SIUT has further expanded its facilities after receiving another generous donation from a philanthropist enabling the establishment of the Hanifa Sulaiman Dawood Oncology Centre. The building of the Oncology Centre is another milestone for SIUT, facilitating the treatment of various cancers including bladder cancer, kidney cancer, prostate cancer, adrenal cancer, testicular cancer and post-transplant malignancies.
SIUT started as 8-bedded ward in the Burns Ward of Civil Hospital. Later it was shifted to the third floor of Emergency Building of Civil Hospital. With the passage of time it was expanded and included urology and nephrology ward, operation theatre, lab, radiology, offices, stores, and transplant ward.
The old building of SIUT is now consists of 270 beds. It houses the main Emergency of SIUT comprising of 150 beds with dialysis and medical and critical care unit facility. The Adult Urology Department and main operation theatre are also included.
The Government of Sindh gave land for the new premises in 1993 and Dewan Family donated the fund for the construction of the 6-storey building which was named as Dewan Farooq Medical Centre. This is a 425-bedded facility providing state-of the-art facilities including out-patient clinics, diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, diagnostic and research laboratory, main dialysis unit, nephrology, gastro hepatobiliary and general surgery departments, pediatric urology and nephrology departments, Transplant ward, Operation Theatres, Lithotripsy Unit and academic floor with library, auditorium and Z A School of Medical Technology.
Lady Dufferin Hospital
Today, the Lady Dufferin Hospital has a capacity of 300 beds with 4 operation theatres, prenatal and postnatal wards, ultrasound department, neo-natal intensive care unit, labor room, consulting rooms, private and semi-private rooms, outpatient department (OPD), family planning services and 24-hour laboratory, radiology and pharmacy. The hospital is one of the largest reputable maternity hospitals in Pakistan. It has state-of-the-art equipment enabling it to provide comprehensive obstetric, gynecological, and neonatal healthcare.
This includes deliveries, advanced hysteroscopy/laparoscopic surgery, cancer surgery, and infertility (including IVF as a satellite unit). The Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit at the Lady Dufferin Hospital provides critical care at highly subsidized rates. We have recently added another new high-tech ventilator and a bubble CPAP unit, and provide free ventilator support for neonates.
At the end of the 19th century, the women of India were prepared to die rather than receive treatment in general hospitals in the presence of male patients. When Queen Victoria was informed of the plight of these women, she asked Lady Hariot Dufferin, the wife of the Viceroy of India at that time, to help find a solution. Lady Hariot Dufferin decided to establish hospitals exclusively for women and children. These Dufferin Hospitals were located in Karachi, Quetta, Shikarpur & Hyderabad (now in Pakistan) and Delhi, Nagpor and Calcutta (in independent India) as well as one in the Burmese capital Rangoon.
She appealed to the local philanthropists to donate to the “Dufferin Fund” in order to build these hospitals. In response to this appeal Eduljee Dinshaw, a renowned philanthropist, established the Lady Dufferin Hospital, Karachi, by a princely donation, in 1894 as a Charitable Institute. The foundation laying ceremony of Eduljee Dinshaw Wing was performed on 12 November 1894 by Lady Elgin with Kincardine and completed in 1898.
Katrak Maternity Wing: The Foundation Stone was laid in August 1914 and the building was completed in June 1915. The Opening ceremony took place on 6 January 1916. Total Cost: Rs. 70,000/-
Engineer in Charge: S.G. Lyttle, P.W.D Physician in Charge: MVS. Leonard (Gumprich, M.B. ch B) Architect: Durcdas B. Advani Contractor: Sewji Ganesh Honorary: F.S. Punnett Secretaries: E. A. Pearson Katrak Maternity Wing (As stand today)
Renovation works commenced on 27 February 1999. The Ground breaking ceremony was performed by Moinuddin Haider, former Governor of Sindh. The work was completed in December 2005.
In 1915, Dr. Elizabeth Stephens Imprey was appointed the new head of the hospital, but she never made it to Karachi from England. She boarded the P & O liner SS Persia as a first-class passenger in Tilbury, London. The ship was sunk off Crete coast by a German submarine on December 30, 1915. More than 340 passengers drowned, including Dr. Imprey.
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is a 550-bed hospital in Lahore. This was the original hospital established by Sir Ganga Ram, a Civil Engineer who served the British government. He established it in Lahore in 1921 during the British Raj, 26 years before the Partition of British India.
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital was established in 1921, at the end of WWI in the walled city of Lahore. The benefactor, Sir Ganga Ram, was a civil engineer and leading philanthropist of his time who also donated land for the site. In 1943, during WWII, the hospital was shifted to its present location to cope with the growing demand for medical and health care services. After the partition in 1947, India built another Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi.
In 1944, the family of Sir Ganga Ram started a medical college by the name Balak Ram Medical College named after a son of Sir Ganga Ram. The college was closed soon after the independence of Pakistan in 1947 and its premises were abandoned. Fatima Jinnah Medical University was established in 1948 on the same land and named after Fatima Jinnah, the sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is now an affiliated hospital to the Fatima Jinnah Medical University. It is now being extended over another 22 kanals land and will provide an additional 400 beds. Although it is an all-female medical college, the faculty consists of highly qualified male teachers as well as female teachers. The college has well-equipped laboratories, an airconditioned dissection hall, lecture theatres with audio-visual aids for teaching purposes, a pathology museum, clinical academic rooms, a well-equipped library, and an auditorium for seminars and international conferences. A purpose-built accident and emergency department have been added.
The hostel for students is within walking distance of the college. It consists of six blocks. Two new blocks are being built to accommodate more students. At the moment there are around one thousand students living in the hostel.
The Aga Khan University Hospital
The Aga Khan University Hospital strives to maintain the highest standards of safe and quality health care for all patients, in all its facilities. The Quality and Patient Safety team at the Aga Khan University Hospital have excessive training and experience in managing and ensuring the highest Quality Standards within our facilities and systems to ensure patient safety. It ensures that proper checks and balances are followed in all aspects of the delivery of our healthcare services, including Infection Control. The high performance standards have been certified by two prestigious global accrediting bodies; Joint Commission International (JCI) and College of American Pathologists (CAP). World Class Quality Services, demonstrated by the gold seal accreditation from the prestigious Joint Commission International. The only University Hospital to receive this accreditation for Academic and Medical practices. Multiple specialty services, all under one roof, enables the medical teams to routinely work together to deliver a multidisciplinary holistic approach and continuum of care for all our patients.
Internationally trained and highly experienced doctors, surgeons, nurses, allied health care professionals, administrative and support staff that patients can rely on for managing simple to complex cases. The Aga Khan University is an established, reputable, International Institution that is globally recognised with established working associations with other leading University Hospitals in the world. This enables the implementation of the latest protocols for treatment, medicines, surgery, diagnostic and laboratory, with superior equipment and technology, benefiting many patients every day.
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centres (SKMCH&RC) are state-of-the-art cancer centres located in Lahore and Peshawar.
SKMCH&RC, Lahore was the first project of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, which is a charitable organisation. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre is the brainchild of Pakistan’s Cricket World Cup winning captain and the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan. The inspiration to build the Hospital came after his mother, Shaukat Khanum, succumbed to cancer in 1985. During his mother’s illness, he witnessed up-close the plight of poor cancer patients in the hospitals of Pakistan and realised the need for a specialised cancer centre in his country.
Being a developing country, where many do not have access to even elementary health care facilities, cancer was considered the ultimate symbol of hopelessness and almost certain death. Prior to the establishment of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Lahore, no specialized institution for the comprehensive treatment of cancer existed in Pakistan. Imran Khan therefore decided to embark upon his dream of making cancer care accessible to the people of his country, regardless of their ability to pay.