QIH to start liver and bone marrow transplants from next month
QIH to start liver and bone marrow transplants from next month
Islamabad
Within just a year of the commencement of its Liver Transplant Programme, the Quaid-e-Azam International Hospital (QIH) has met the stringent criteria for initiation of liver transplantation services. The milestone will have been achieved ahead of the hospital’s 6th anniversary on December 25, 2017. QIH is also geared up for initiating bone marrow transplants in the same month.
The founding chairman and CEO of QIH Dr. Shaukat A Bangash shared this information with ‘The News’ during a visit to the hospital here on Monday. State-of-the-art equipment had just landed at the hospital’s biomedical workshop, where excess equipment is meticulously parked as reserve stock. “Any machine that malfunctions is immediately replaced,” Dr. Bangash informed.
The Hepatology and Liver Transplant Department of QIH is headed by renowned surgeon Dr. Najm-ul-Hassan Shah, who explained how the availability of latest infrastructure and resources, coupled with induction of skilled human resource operating in an infection-free environment, offers a perfect combination for safe liver transplantation at QIH. Renowned liver transplant surgeon Prof. Dr. Subash Gupta, who has thrice visited the hospital, is also likely to undertake liver transplant surgeries at QIH on regular basis. “Six post-transplant patients are already in the queue,” Dr. Shaukat added.
The 10-storey hospital’s top floor houses the Department of Clinical Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant for diagnosis and management of all types of blood diseases including blood cancer, pre-transplant assessment and management, post-transplant follow-up, and management of complications. QIH will also commence bone marrow transplants next month under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Pervez Ahmed—founder of the Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant.
Moving on, Dr. Shaukat mentioned QIH as being the first hospital in Pakistan to have started capsule endoscopy, a procedure that records images of the gastrointestinal tract for medical diagnosis. The procedure was introduced only last week, and will be followed soon with the facility of endoscopic ultrasound, a minimally invasive procedure for assessment of gastrointestinal and lung diseases. The hospital is already performing kidney transplants as well.
“No hospital in Pakistan has accomplished as many milestones over a short span of just five years,” claimed Dr. Bangash, whose hospital is the only medical facility to have met the quality and safety standards of the American College of Surgeons Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals.
A tour of the hospital’s Dialysis Centre entailed interaction with numerous patients undergoing blood transfusion. Interestingly, not a single dissenting comment was voiced. The Centre has a separate RO water system for patients suffering from Hepatitis B and C to prevent disease spread. QIH also has in place, a pneumatic tube system for transportation of blood samples.
“I am particularly struck by the quality of care, the standard of cleanliness, and the friendly disposition of the doctors and staff,” said Ambreen Haider, an attendant whose sister has recently undergone a knee replacement surgery at the hospital. Ambreen—a grief recovery specialist based in Arizona, added, “Hospitals are not the most friendly places to be. They are usually over-crowded, poorly ventilated, and imperfectly laid out. On the contrary, QIH has a well-lit layout with plenty of natural light filtering in; such factors greatly impact the overall experience.”
QIH is an architectural marvel designed along contemporary lines. Divided into two functional spaces—one dedicated to specious waiting areas and the other to medical consultations and treatment—the building allows seamless flow of patient and visitor traffic. All outpatient clinics are located on the same floor with their respective IPD rooms; each floor also has its own ICU. “My surgeons testify not having seen such ORs anywhere in the world. We enforce strictest possible adherence to infection control protocols because infection is the biggest enemy of surgery,” Dr. Bangash maintained.
Referring to the healing effects of daylight, Dr. Bangash added that the large windows of the ICU rooms have been designed for prevention and control of ICU psychosis. All ICU rooms are spacious and have attached wheelchair-enabled bathrooms. Moreover, the air quality of the ICUs is maintained through latest air-conditioning technology, which prevents spread of infection.
The 20-feet wide corridors have been designed with a purpose. “In case of a natural disaster, we can instantly turn the corridor into a makeshift 100-bed hospital without disturbing other patients. Oxygen drops, along with suction, are installed every 10 feet throughout the corridors.
“Private hospitals that rely on bank loans resort to unethical practices such as prescription of unnecessary tests, prolonged hospital stay, and escalated costs of diagnostic tests and admissions. I have spent a fortune on this project sans bank borrowings. The hospital is a commercial tertiary care facility with a community service component that allows for discounted and free medical care for non-affording patients. It exemplifies a unique public-private financing model with 150 shareholders, most of them being doctors based in Pakistan and abroad,” Dr. Shaukat shared. The hospital also has an indoor swimming pool and a gym for consultants. Future plans include the construction of an on-site hotel to encourage medical tourism, housing facilities for staff, a medical college, and a post-graduate training and nursing college.
Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/242423-QIH-to-start-liver-and-bone-marrow-transplants-from-next-month