Despite a final nod from Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani for expansion of Polyclinic to meet the ever-increasing number of patients, the plan is in doldrums due to conflict between the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the hospital administration.
The federal government approved construction of the new 1,000-bed building for the FGSH, commonly known as Polyclinic last year in September, but the work has not been started so far.
According to sources, the hospital was not able to carry out important medical tests such as CT scan and MRI as they had no room to install the required equipment for these tests. Besides, the ever-increasing number of patients also forced the hospital to expand its existing capacity.
An official in the CDA told Pakistan Today requesting anonymity that the hospital had not paid Rs 53.5 million to the civic authority, which had delayed the construction of the building.
A senior doctor in the administration of the hospital was of the opinion that PC-1 for the building had been approved, but the possession of the land was the main issue which had not so far been resolved.
He said though Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani announced on September 26 to perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the hospital expansion, there was no further development on this issue. He said the land could be legally handed over to the hospital administration hospital only after the payment of Rs 53.5 million to the CDA, but the hospital did not have enough funds to acquire the land.
The doctor said, “PC-I of this project was approved in February this year after approval from the prime minister, but owing to shortage of funds the project was pending in files.”
He lamented, “Rs12 million are also required for technical architectural design of the new building, soil testing and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) after the land is acquired. The PC-II of this project is also prepared; all planning work is done, but the need is to start it on practical grounds.”
While sharing the details of the project, he said the new five-storey building would consist of emergency and outpatient, cardiology and critical care, surgical and medical blocks.
The construction would be carried out phase wise and two more departments of oncology and neurosurgery would be established in the new block while a separate oncology nursing block would also be constructed in the new building.
Currently, Polyclinic has the capacity of 524 beds, which is not sufficient to accommodate the ever-increasing number of patients, but with construction of the new building, it will rise to almost 1,500 beds.
When contacted, Polyclinic Executive Director Shaukat Kiyani said, “The project is delayed, but will be started soon as it is a major project and will take time to get materialised.” He said there was no shortage of funds and added the payment to the CDA would hopefully be made next week.