Charity workers deserve credit

Everyone connected with the charity that brings health care to a remote part of Pakistan can be very proud of what has been achieved, Woking Mayor Cllr Peter Ankers said at the weekend.

Mr Ankers was speaking to a packed audience at the 5th Annual General Meeting of the Hashim Welfare Hospital, held in the Post-Graduate Centre at St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey on Sunday. (06-07-08)

He said: “This has been a most interesting afternoon.  It has been fascinating to learn about what has been happening and the visionary proposals for the charity.  I think this is fantastic work and I must congratulate everyone on all of their hard work.

“This is only successful because of the wide range of people who are working so hard both in this country and in Pakistan, and they too should be congratulated.  I think everyone connected with this project should be very, very proud.”

Earlier the Chairman of the Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust Clive Thompson CBE had welcomed the audience and told them that the Trust was proud to be associated with the Hashim Welfare Hospital.  He said: “It is all due to a single vision, led by Idrees Awan and shared by people in this room.”

The Hashim Welfare Hospital opened five years ago in the village of Pindi Hashim where Idrees Awan was born and raised. As a young boy he had been inspired by a teacher to achieve his potential and study medicine. His remote, rural village was poor with no electricity or running water and when at home on vacations from Lahore he studied by lantern light to pass his exams.  Over the years he progressed to become a urology surgeon and his desire to bring health care to his people progressed towards the opening of the day hospital.                                                                                                                       

Colleagues at the Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust, where he is Honorary Consultant Urologist, helped him to plan and equip the hospital and there has been huge support in Surrey and other parts of the UK for the project.  The second stage of the hospital’s development was put on hold when resources and medical staff went to the aid of victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.

The charity has treated more than 94,000 people and of those 35,000 were treated in the 10 months immediately after the earthquake.  The hospital has five clinical departments; general surgery and medicine; clinical pharmacy; clinical pathology; dentistry supported by the World Health Organisation, and ophthalmology - which is the busiest department. The first quarter of the second phase of building work is now almost complete and this will include a state-of-the-art Eye Day Surgery Unit.

Said Mr Awan: “All in all we are performing well with five years of clinical service. We have two working hospitals – the originalHashim Welfare Hospital and another hospital 120 miles away at Faisalabad. Land 200 miles away has been bought for another hospital to be built on by Ashford and St. Peter’s Urologist Dr Mohameed Saleem. Two additional hospitals are also planned and they will be approximately 100 miles apart.  The demand for our work and experience is increasing.  None of this could be achieved without the support of donors, friends, colleagues, charity members and hospital staff at the HashimWelfare Hospital and Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust, and last but not least, our families.”

The charity is now also affiliated to the Tropical Health and Education Trust UK which is an umbrella organisation for the medical charities that work towards ensuring decent, basic health services are made available for all, particularly in the most neglected areas abroad.

Anyone wishing to donate money to the appeal can do so by visiting www.hashimwelfare.org.uk or by contacting the UK appeal Treasurer, Mr Sajid Mahmood on 01483-762774 or 07887-851040.