LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has laid the foundation for Pakistan’s largest and first public cancer hospital, where patients will receive free treatment.
The foundation stone ceremony for the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research was held in Lahore. This institute will be Pakistan’s first fully public cancer hospital, providing free treatment for Level 3 and Level 4 cancer patients.
Maryam Nawaz directed that the project be made operational within a year and received a briefing on the 915-bed hospital in Lahore, set to be completed in two phases.
The briefing detailed that the cancer institute will include pediatric oncology, operating theaters, 10 radiation therapy bunkers, an ICU, a 30-bed emergency ward, a waiting area, and a 24-bed accommodation facility for attendants. The main building will also house a bone marrow center, a cancer care clinic, doctors’ residences, and a mosque in the first phase.
The second phase will add a 300-bed building and a parking plaza. The first public cancer hospital will offer radiation therapy, chemotherapy, endoscopy, and other essential facilities.
During the ceremony, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz officially launched the hospital’s construction by placing the first brick, followed by a prayer.
Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique shared project details, expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar, and others for their support. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has set a 12-month deadline for the first phase’s completion.
She also announced plans for the province’s first public bone marrow transplant unit and instructed consideration of hotels for attendants in front of the hospital.
Additionally, she announced plans for specialised hospitals in Punjab focusing on blood diseases, pediatrics, organ transplants, and bone marrow.
Maryam Nawaz stated they would attract specialist doctors from abroad by offering benefits, including homes, vehicles, and attractive salaries in Punjab.
She emphasised that every action improving public welfare is her priority, aiming to complete all essential health initiatives within four years, including cardiology, neurology, pediatrics, and dialysis centers in every city. No cancer patient will be denied treatment.
She added that this hospital is a beacon of hope for millions, offering free treatment to patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and other provinces.
Maryam Nawaz noted that Punjab has opened its doors to people from other provinces for employment, resources, and healthcare.
She stated that Nawaz Sharif Cancer Hospital is a project for all of Pakistan, adding, “My beloved mother suffered from cancer and left us; I understand the pain of loss. Cancer treatment is beyond the means of not only the poor but even the wealthy, who exhaust their entire savings.”
She remarked, “If the public is suffering from cancer, what is the purpose of the government’s funds? A welfare state is like a mother who would give everything for her child’s treatment. Even the previous government had funds, yet they didn’t care to build a cancer hospital.”
