PIMS to hold free medical camps at National Press Club every day
Media to assist FMDC students in fund-raising initiative for poor patients
Islamabad: Undergraduate students of the Federal Medical and Dental College (FMDC) Thursday solicited the media’s support in reaching out to poorest of the poor patients with medical treatment under the umbrella of a patients’ welfare organisation launched at the National Press Club (NPC).
The ceremony also featured an announcement about free medical clinics at NPC becoming a daily activity, an ambulance being permanently parked at NPC for use by the media, and medical treatment of journalists being prioritised at the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (SZABMU-PIMS).
Named ‘Kuch Acha’ (Something Good), the non-government organisation launched by students of FMDC will embark on a fund-raising campaign, seeking contributions from ministries, philanthropists, and industrial establishments, among other entities, to generate funds for the treatment of non-affording patients. The media will help the organization, both in its efforts to raise funds, which will be disbursed through a committee, as well to uphold financial transparency.
The ceremony was attended, among others, by the Vice Chancellor of SZABMU-PIMS Prof. Dr Javed Akram, NPC’s president Shakeel Anjum, director of PIMS Burn Unit Dr. Tariq Iqbal, head of the cardiology department Dr. Akhtar Bandesha, and cardiologist Dr. Javed Iqbal, who is visiting from London.
The media was brought on board for the fund-raising campaign for ‘Kuch Acha,’ which will start from Centaurus, and then move on to Blue Area. “With a begging bowl in our hands like Edhi, we will ourselves urge people to donate for the cause. With the media by our side, people will be willing to donate more,” Prof. Dr. Javed Akram was of the view. He stated that a monthly audit report of the funds would be shared with NPC to uphold transparency. The organization will also collect animal hides on Eidul Azha and is planning a grand fund-raising activity at FMDC in September.
“Let there be no patient who doesn’t get treatment and medicines. Oh God, please help us serve patients who are clueless about where to go and which specialist to see,” Dr. Javed Akram prayed while highlighting the spirit of ‘Kuch Acha.’
Ironically, a majority of the patients visiting PIMS today neither gets proper treatment nor medicines. There is a lot of room for a lot of ‘something good’ being done at PIMS.Dr. Javed Akram then thanked Dr. Javed Iqbal, who visits PIMS every two to three months to perform free surgical procedures of the heart, and who also donates near-expiry stents to the hospital for use.
Dr. Javed Iqbal will be performing free angiographies and angioplasties at PIMS today (Friday) from 7 a.m. onwards. Dr. Akram invited all non-affording patients to visit PIMS to avail the service.
Referring to the medical initiative for journalists, Dr. Javed Akram maintained that the lifecycle of media persons is limited because of their stressful lifestyle. Smoking is common among journalists and many are afflicted with hypertension.
“A majority of the journalists come from humble backgrounds. To begin with, free medical clinics will be convened at NPC from 12 noon to 3 p.m. every Monday and Thursday. Within a month, these camps will be held on a daily basis, with senior consultants and post-graduate doctors of PIMS coming to NPC to examine serving and retired media persons, their family members, and even their close contacts, servants and helpers,” Dr. Akram stated.
While blood collection and some tests will be performed at NPC, further examination will be facilitated at PIMS. “We are also creating a system of prioritised treatment for journalists at PIMS to save their time,” Dr. Akram shared. He suggested that an Islamabad Health Journalists Association be formed, and to this effect, offered international visits and trainings for its members as a capacity-building initiative.
Expressing his views, Shakeel Anjum pledged unconditional support to the FMDC initiative. Dr. Javed Akram instantly acceded to his demand for an ambulance being placed at the disposal of NPC. “You will get an ambulance within a week. Our intention is to benefit the media, which will be closest to the ‘Kuch Acha’ campaign,” he stated in conclusion before the cake-cutting ritual.In the end, the VC presented shields to Shakeel Anjum and Dr. Javed Iqbal.
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