Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a new cardiac emergency unit at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), a project expected to be completed within eight months.
The facility is being developed jointly by the Sindh government, NICVD Patients’ Aid Foundation and Hilton Pharma. It is aimed at reducing pressure on the existing emergency department, which receives around 1,000 to 1,200 patients daily from across the country.
The new unit will include triage, resuscitation, critical care and critical decision units, along with a STAT laboratory, fast-track facility, pharmacy, waiting area and help desk.
Speaking at the ceremony, CM Shah said the facility would strengthen NICVD’s capacity to provide free cardiac treatment and help save lives by ensuring timely emergency care.
According to NICVD Executive Director Prof Dr Tahir Saghir, the institute treated more than 1.6 million patients in 2025, compared with 583,000 in 2014. Between 2019 and 2025, more than 1.32 million patients from outside Sindh received treatment at NICVD in Karachi.
The institute performed 9,279 primary PCIs, 18,875 angiographies and 1,489 cardiac surgeries in 2025 alone, Prof Saghir said.
Mr Shah said the new emergency facility was being developed by converting NICVD’s old OPD building following the opening of a new OPD complex in December 2025.
He also said construction was underway on a separate seven-storey, 300-bed paediatric cardiac unit equipped with five operation theatres, four cath labs, a hybrid lab, CT and MRI facilities, and a 250-seat conference hall and library.
The chief minister said the provincial government had expanded major healthcare institutions through public-private partnerships and stressed that sustainable healthcare development required cooperation between the government, private sector, philanthropists and civil society.
Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho termed the new emergency block a major step towards improving timely and free cardiac care at NICVD.
