NICVD stops free elective angioplasty, angiography

Web Desk

10th Feb, 2022. 01:04 pm
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KARACHI: The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) on Thursday announced to stop conducting free elective angioplasty and angiography to slash expenditures because of financial crisis.

So, NICVD Executive Director Dr Nadeem Qamar said free angioplasty and angiography would only be conducted in emergency for saving human life. Otherwise, people would have to make payment for both the medical procedures, he maintained.

While, he said surgery of children, emergency facilities and brain stroke programme would go on as usual free of cost.

Dr Nadeem Qamar said the pressure of excessive number of patients from all over the country had increased to an intolerable level because free angioplasty. He relayed that the NICVD had to pay Rs8 to Rs9 billion debt because of the financial crisis.

He said the Sindh government had paid Rs4 billion grant so that the loan could be repaid. He said the patients of elective angioplasty could be treated through medicines, while needy patients’ surgery could be conducted through the money of Zakat and other funds.

On February 9, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid had said that the law on pre-marriage thalassemia test was about to be introduced in the province.

She had said this while speaking as a chief guest at a workshop organised by the Punjab Thalassemia and other Genetic Disorders Prevention and Research Institute at Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMU).