Amraiz Khan
According to one estimate, there are 170,000 to 200,000 new cases of cancer in Pakistan each year. During last year more than 12,000 new patient registrations were recorded only across the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust facilities, an increase from previous year, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic. Across these various facilities, 210,667 patients visited the outpatient clinics and 14,840 admissions were recorded.
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centres (SKMCH&RC) are state-of-the-art cancer centres located in Lahore and Peshawar, Pakistan. SKMCH&RC, Lahore opened in 1994 and it was the first project of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, which is a charitable organisation established under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 of Pakistan.
Making Quality Cancer Care a Reality for All
Throughout the pandemic SKMCH&RC in Lahore and in Peshawar continued to deliver cancer care, based on the principles of quality and equality.
In March 2021, SKMCH&RC, Lahore was once again accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), an international body based in the United States that recognizes hospitals all over the world for quality in all aspects of their functioning. The comprehensive re-accreditation survey was held from 15th to 19th March, with a team of expert surveyors from the JCI evaluating compliance to hospital standards related to a variety of areas.
These included the International Patient Safety Goals, patient assessment and care, anaesthesia and surgical care, medication management, patient and family education, quality improvement, infection prevention and control, governance and leadership, facility management, staff qualifications and education and information management.
It is pertinent to mention here that SKMCH&RC, Lahore, was surveyed against new and far more stringent standards set by the JCI in its 7th edition of standards. At SKMCH&RC, Lahore, the commissioning of a second PET-CT scanner in 2021 doubled the capacity to perform scans and drastically reduced waiting times. As part of the
Hospital’s commitment to remaining at the cutting edge of technology, a new state-of-the-art linear accelerator with stereotactic body radiotherapy capability became functional in March 2022. The department of Clinical & Radiation Oncology is equipped with five linear accelerators and it is the largest department in the country delivering more than 50,000 radiation therapy sessions each year.
The fact that 30 percent of patients seen at SKMCH&RC in Lahore hailed from Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and surrounding areas, and recognising the physical, emotional and financial
obstacles they had to overcome in order to access treatment, the second SKMCH&RC opened in Peshawar, in 2015. Surgical oncology services started in April 2021 with two modular operation theatres now operational, where 806 procedures were performed during 2021. Since all the main treatment modalities for cancer are now available at SKMCH&RC, Peshawar, thousands of patients will benefit from these services, closer to their homes, in years to come.
