Having visited personally emergency medical centers in UK, USA, Australia and Muscat I can say with guarantee that NICVD perhaps is the best cardiac institute of the world located in Karachi with its nine branches in interior Sindh. I am making this claim having personally visited NICVD as a patient in emergency number of times with identical results. Any person with heart problem needs immediate attention and quick treatment. In emergency majority of the people with heart problem rush towards big hospitals without realizing they are putting patient in danger, where the attendant of the patient is first asked to deposit advance payment that runs in few thousands and completion of other formalities that takes quite some time only then patient is seen by the doctor. This is called advance emergency. On the other hand, if any patient with heart problem reaches emergency of NICVD he is immediately taken in the room where state of the art equipment is installed along with special beds. Within 3 minutes the patient is attended and given lifesaving treatment free of cost. One attendant is allowed with each patient. Unfortunately, our people are absolutely ignorant about the facilities provided by Sind government. Due credit must be given to PPP specially the Chief Minister of Sind Murad Ali Shah who takes personal interest in the projects which are people oriented. NICVD made a humble beginning from the small Central Heart Clinic in Ward 10 of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Karachi in 1956.It has now become the primary heart-care provider for Pakistanis for over 68 years.
It gets funds from the Federal Government, USAID, donors and the Japanese Government. NICVD turned into proper cardiac-care center on 14 August 1971. For the following eight years, NICVD remained a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) but in 1979 it was nationalized by the Government of Pakistan and became an Autonomous Body under the Federal Ministry of Health now under government of Sind. Since its inception in 1963, the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) has played a pivotal role in caring for patients with heart disease in Pakistan.NICVD caters to the cardiovascular needs of a vast majority of patients from all provinces of Pakistan as well as patients from other neighboring countries. It is responsible for training the bulk of local cardiac physicians, nurses and paramedics throughout the country. NICVD is taking care of poor cardiac patients whether belonging to different localities of metropolis Karachi or to the far-flung parts of Pakistan. To extend the facility to rural areas the Government of Sind has introduced a new era of heart healthcare by introducing Chest Pain Units and Satellite Centers.
Apart from Karachi where the main facility of the NICVD exists, the institute has been operating through its satellite centers in nine other parts of Sindh, including Larkana, Tando Muhammad Khan, Sehwan, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Mithi, Khairpur and Liyari.
Getting more in sight about NICVD I must express my gratitude and sincere thanks to Professor Dr Zahid Jamal Adult Cardiologist to have spared some time out of his understandably busy schedule to answer some of my questions. At the very outset he said any patient that reaches NICVD is not given any preferential treatment. For us no one is VIP even VOP (very ordinary person) is equally important and no distinction while attending cardiac patients. No one is refused treatment even if he is beggar for us he is a human being first. First come first served irrespective of patient’s status. He further mentioned that around 2.3 million people get free treatment each year from NICVD from all location’s. NICVD has established 28 chest pain units across Sindh to provide acute management of heart attacks. These units are strategically located under flyovers or at hospitals and clinics in cities; Karachi, Ghotki, Tando Bago, Jacobabad, Umerkot, Tando Allahyar, Mirpurkhas, Shikarpur, Thatta, Kashmore, and Bhiria City. To date, these units have treated over 1.3 million patients free of cost. The institute offers comprehensive facilities including angiography, angioplasty, bypass heart surgery, laboratory and radiology services, outpatient consultation, hospitalization, and medication, all free of charge. Due to shortage of time he promised to meet some other time with more details. However, it may be added that NICVD has also established Executive clinic exclusively at the second floor with highly qualified doctors for the convenience of general public with neat and clean working atmosphere. It is very strange that Sind government is doing so much for the poor to treat most expensive treatment of heart free of cost but people are ignorant. It is time PID should prepare a comprehensive documentary on NICVD for the general information of poor people at large.
Before concluding I would like to draw attention of Chief Minister to kindly streamline the parking issue and system should be evolve to have easy unhindered entry of ambulances while going towards emergency. Proper sheds be constructed for the rest of the families of patients who come from long distance. A proper canteen should be made functioning round the clock where subsidized food should be made available. At present ambulances with heart emergency patients face lot of traffic jam before they enter NICVD, this must be attended at top priority. “IF YOU DO GOOD TO HUMANITY ON THE EARTH- GOD WILL BE PLEASED IN THE HEAVEN”. It looks NICVD operating on this well-meaning saying. Let us hope that Sind government also turns rest of the hospitals in to model hospitals and establish medical centers throughout interior Sind for the benefit of rural population.
