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Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) launched a fund-raising campaign
for the expansion of its Emergency Room and construction of a one-stop
Day Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging Building. The total cost of this
expansion project is Rs. 750 million, including equipment. Of this
amount, AKUH will contribute Rs. 450 million while 100 caring citizens
are being invited to contribute Rs. 3 million each. Donations are
fully tax deductible.
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| Ambassador
Saidullah Khan Dehlavi, Chairman AKU Board of Trustees addressing
the guests at the fund raising dinner held on 27 May 2004. |
On May 27th, 2004, addressing a gathering of over 100 guests that
included corporate donors and leading philanthropists, Ambassador
Saidullah Khan Dehlavi, Chairman of AKU Board of Trustees, said
that "this new drive builds on the successful campaign that
generated Rs. 240 million for a state-of-the-art cancer care facility,
the Oncology Services Building, which will be operational in November
2005. In a truly national effort, the Oncology Services project
received enthusiastic support from 48 corporate donors and philanthropists
representing a spectrum of communities across Pakistan."
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| Munnawar
Hamid OBE, member AKU Board of Trustees speaking at the dinner. |
The Emergency Room started functioning at AKUH in 1985 and has
set new national standards in high-quality patient care. President
of AKU, Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, informed the guests that the expanded
Emergency Room building, scheduled to open in 2006, will raise the
number of emergency beds from 26 to 48 and provide access to over
60,000 emergency care patients annually. At full capacity, the Emergency
Room can currently cater to 37,000 patients annually and this does
not match the influx of patients. Additional space is urgently required.
Besides increasing capacity, expansion will facilitate faster access
to critical care and quicker admittance to the Hospital. Housed
under one roof, the Day Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging will complement
each other and deliver advanced surgical, radiological and haemodialysis
services at a convenient, one-stop location. Day Surgery, which
requires no overnight stay, will cut surgical costs by 20 to 30
per cent and allow speedier recovery at home.
AKUH is one of the few teaching hospitals in the world to be ISO
9001 certified and ensures consistency in its high-quality care
through a meticulous process of continual quality assurance. Munnawar
Hamid, Chairman of British Oxygen Pakistan Limited and Member of
AKU Board of Trustees, in his capacity as Chairman, Aga Khan University
Resource Development Committee (Corporate) said that "Over
70 per cent of the patients treated at AKUH are from lower and middle
income groups. Financial assistance is available to patients in
need through the Hospital's Patient Welfare Programme, as well as
through Zakat funds contributed to the Patients' Behbud Society
for AKUH. Since its inception in 1986, over 200,000 patients have
received nearly Rs. 1.05 billion under the Patient Welfare Programme."
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