The Capital Hospital Islamabad, a 500-bed hospital run by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), will now have a medical college next to it, according to the CDA board.
The Capital Hospital Islamabad, a 500-bed hospital run by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), will now have a medical college next to it, according to the CDA board.
Dr. Fazal-e-Mola, the executive director of Capital Hospital Islamabad, presented the schedule for establishing the medical college under the purview of the CDA during a board meeting that was presided over by Captain Retired Noor ul Amin Mengal.
Concerns were raised by some board members regarding the possibility of the civic authority incurring additional liabilities as a result of funding the medical college with CDA funds. The college should be established as a private venture with its own financial model, it was decided after consideration.
A committee headed by Dr. Muhammad Ali, vice chancellor of Multan’s Bahauddin Zakariya University and a member of the CDA Board, has been established to further this.
The committee will look into ways to reduce the burden on the CDA by starting a self-supporting private medical college. For this, the committee may use an existing private limited company that is already registered with Pakistan’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
The board has given the medical college permission to use the Arts and Craft Village building close to the Pak-China Friendship Centre as a temporary location while waiting for a new building to be built. The planning division has been given the go-ahead to employ a consultant to handle the permanent building’s detailed design and construction oversight.
The board’s approval in principle was confirmed by the executive director, Dr. Fazal-e-Mola, who also said that the committee would make any subsequent decisions.
In order to establish a medical college, he assured that the capital hospital satisfies the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council‘s (PMDC) requirements. The college will set aside 5% of its seats for CDA employees, 20% for needy and underprivileged students, and the remaining 75% will be filled on the basis of open merit.
The board also discussed requests for plots to build various facilities made by the Industrial Association of Islamabad and the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The board was unable to assign plots to private associations, however, due to current legal restrictions.
Alternatives were considered, including the possibility that the CDA could provide plots without allotment, enabling the chamber or association to create public welfare initiatives with their own funds. A final choice has not yet been made on this issue, though.