It gives me immense pleasure to share my thoughts regarding the journey that the Burns Centre project has been for me.
In 2001, answering the call of the then Governor Sindh, the trade & industry came forward and adopted the project that is now the Burns Centre – Civil Hospital Karachi.
I am eternally grateful to Almighty Allah that He gave me an opportunity to serve Him and humanity by making me a part of the founding members of the Burns Centre – a place of unfathomable agony and despair. The accident of burning and then the cost of patient care – both are the most harrowing experiences that any individual, any family can bear.
A human being within minutes is reduced to the condition of an invalid – there are no warnings or predictions. The Burns Centre is the only unit that treats burns patients from all over the country – free of cost.
It is the first Burns Centre in Pakistan which was established as a public-private partnership in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Government of Sindh, to operate according to international standards, as a state-of-the-art specialized institution. It promotes the only thing that can be done to avoid the incidence of burns that is – create awareness for ‘Prevention from Burns’.
Previously the Burns Ward of the Civil Hospital Karachi used to provide treatment to patients from Sindh, Baluchistan, Punjab, NWFP and neighboring countries. The department managed approximately 20,000 patients per year, with an average of around 500-600 in-patients with severe burns, annually. Unfortunately, with the alarming rise in cases of burns, the Burns Ward had become insufficient to fulfill all the requirements and there was an urgent need to upgrade it into a full-fledged Burns Care Centre and Centre of Excellence. A patient welfare society by the name of Friends of Burns Centre (FOBC) was established to cater to this task in an institutional manner. It understood the situation and collaborated with several individuals, institutions, Trusts & Foundations and thanks to all these friends& colleagues that joined hands with FOBC for a purposeful cause, the Centre came into being and is still supported by them through FOBC to run it successfully and serve the patients with international standards.
The Centre has the modern operation theatres, 66 bedded facility, emergency treatment facility, Intensive Care Unit and a 24-hour clinical laboratory. All these diagnostic and treatment facilities are provided completely free to all patients.
As a founder member, I am indebted to all the institutions, friends and colleagues that have supported us in this cause and extend my profound appreciation for the efforts of all the friends who have strengthened FOBC to create ‘a ray of hope and a way forward’.
Together we can face the future with confidence and optimism. I request that whoever can extend whatever support to the Burns Centre may please do the same with the thought that Almighty Allah has chosen you to serve Him by serving humanity.
