Hyderabad: The Infectious Diseases Department and HIV Treatment and Support Centre (ART Centre) were inaugurated at the health services hospital of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro. The centre has been established with the collaboration of the Sindh health department, CDC-1 and LUMHS.
According to a LUMHS spokesperson, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ikram Din Ujjan and Member Sindh Assembly Dr Sikandar Ali Shoro jointly inaugurated the facility. Senior university and hospital officials, deans, directors, heads of departments, faculty members and medical experts attended the ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ikram Din Ujjan said the establishment of a dedicated department for infectious diseases and an HIV Treatment and Support Centre was an important step towards providing better healthcare facilities to patients.
He said the facility would help in timely diagnosis, treatment, counselling and continuous care of patients. HIV remained an important public health issue worldwide, he added, stressing the need for timely diagnosis and treatment.
MPA Dr Sikandar Ali Shoro said there was a need to further improve HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment facilities in Pakistan.
He said the establishment of the center at LUMHS health services hospital would provide people with HIV diagnosis, counselling, treatment and other essential healthcare facilities.
He said a large number of patients visit the health services hospital and therefore more facilities and specialised departments should be established there to provide better healthcare services to the public.
Head of the infectious diseases department Dr Sugandh Memon also addressed the ceremony and termed the establishment of a dedicated infectious diseases department at a teaching hospital an important development.
She stressed the importance of timely diagnosis, effective treatment, preventive measures, patient confidentiality and continuous medical monitoring.
She said the new department and HIV Treatment and Support Centre would not only provide treatment to patients suffering from infectious diseases but also play an important role in the training of medical students, postgraduate doctors and other healthcare professionals.
The speakers appreciated the cooperation between LUMHS and the Sindh health department and said coordination among the university, hospital and health department was essential for effectively addressing HIV and other infectious diseases.