Staff Reporter
Construction work on Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre Karachi is underway at a brisk pace and the project is expected to be commissioned at a total cost of Rs16.4 billion.
In a press-briefing here on Thursday, Dr Muhammed Aasim Yusuf, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centres (SKMCH&RC) said, “Construction is progressing according to the planned project time-lines for our new hospital located in DHA City, Karachi.
I am pleased to announce that structural work on the lower ground, ground and first floor are close to completion.
The lower ground floor will house the clinical and radiation oncology department, which has ten bunkers for radiation machines and the department of nuclear medicine.
The radiology department, the outpatient clinics, the emergency assessment unit, pharmacy and cafeteria will be located on the ground floor and the first floor will house the chemotherapy bays, the bone marrow transplant unit, the endoscopy unit, the pathology lab and the blood bank.”
He further added, “Even during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, SKMCH&RC remains committed to bringing state-of-the-art and comprehensive cancer care closer to patients, especially for the people of Sindh and Southern Balochistan.
The third Hospital, at one million square feet of constructed area, will be twice the size of our hospital in Lahore.
It is being constructed based on our experience of running two tertiary care cancer centres for over two decades, according to international healthcare standards.
It will be equipped with the latest in medical technology and staffed by highly-trained professionals.
Dr Aasim Yusuf explained the urgent need for more specialised cancer centres in Pakistan.
He said that according to one estimate, there are over 170,000 new cancer cases recorded in Pakistan each year and the huge number of new cancer patients means that we are able to serve only a proportion of those suffering from cancer in Pakistan.
In his appeal to the people of Pakistan residing around the globe., and especially in Karachi, Dr Aasim Yusuf said that the new hospital is an opportunity for the public to create a lasting legacy by donating Rs100 for a brick every month or by dedicating rooms in memory of loved ones.
