PAEC to set up Rs 692.69 million nuclear medicine institute

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) will establish nuclear medicine institute in Dera Ismail Khan which will costs Rs 692.69 million. The institute, which will be completed in five years, will provide oncology and radiotherapy facilities with a purpose to reduce the difficulties faced by the large number of population of D.I Khan and its surrounding.
The PAEC sources here in Islamabad said that the number of cancer patients are increasing day by day and to cope with the growing number of patients, more facilities are required throughout the country including this far flung district.
The sources said that PAEC is extending diagnostic and treatment facilities to the population of Pakistan by building cancer hospital in different cities to facilitate the patients within 200-km radius.
The official said that district D.I. Khan has a population of 0.85 million and nearly 4.7 million people are residing in the surrounding South Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, Tank, Bhakkar, Layyah, Taunsa, Mianwali and Zhob districts of NWFP Punjab and Balochistan.
He said that no specialised cancer treatment centre exists in any of these districts for cancer detection and control. The population of about 5.5 million has to travel very long distances to existing medical facilities in Peshawar, Multan and Islamabad, he added.
This is a new project and will be situated in the premises of the new Teaching Hospital of D.I. Khan having about 200 beds with complete clinical specialities except nuclear medicine and radiotherapy, he said.
The official said that the main building will consist of ground floor and first floor having total area of about 67,291 square feet, including highly radio-active area of 4,000 square feet, while allied buildings will cover an area of about 21,000 square feet, he added. The proposed facilities are both preventive (health education, mass awareness programme, etc) and curative (diagnosis and treatment), he said.
The institute will be developed for nuclear medicine outdoor patients department (OPD) and imaging facilities, radiotherapy and oncology with wards, laboratories, administrative and accounts block scientific information facilities (auditorium, library etc) technical services facilities, patients welfare area in the main building.
Security barracks, hostel, rest house, mosque and pharmacy will be as allied buildings. An area of 25 kanals is available for construction of main and allied buildings to cater the needs of the institute. It is expected that annually over 15,000 patients (including 5,000 follow up cases) suffering from a variety of cancers and non-cancers diseases will benefit from the services by the institute.