The Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Transplantation (RIUT) has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after 11 years of work on the project. The hospital, which was initially intended to have 400 beds, was constructed at a cost of Rs3.4 billion with 200 beds due to the slow pace of work and inadequate funding. The previous PTI-led Punjab government only allocated Rs200 million for the project in 2019-20, but the federal and provincial governments accelerated efforts to complete the hospital after the change of government last year.
The RIUT’s emergency, outpatient department (OPD), lithotripsy, dialysis center, and laboratory have already been made fully functional, and the installation of kidney transplant machines has been completed this month. According to Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umer, formal kidney transplants will be initiated soon after the installation of machinery for kidney transplants is completed.
During his visit to the RIUT, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized the need for development projects, particularly those related to health and education, to be implemented in the best interest of the public, without being politicized. He expressed satisfaction with the completion of the first phase of the hospital, where patients were receiving the best medical treatment in the areas of dialysis, kidney ailments, and surgeries.
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Mr. Sharif mentioned that Rs5 billion had been spent on the RIUT so far and expressed regret that the previous government had delayed the project, which could have been made operational much earlier. He lauded the Punjab administration of health for effectively carrying out the operationalisation of the hospital and praised the doctors and nurses for their dedication. The prime minister also took a round of various sections of the RIUT and inquired about the health of patients.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) leaders Hanif Abbasi, Tahira Aurangzeb, and others were present during the inauguration.
