Project Update: The Clinical Tower at SKMCH&RC, Lahore

SKMT Background:

In Pakistan, every year, it is suspected that nearly hundred and people fall victim to cancer. Being a developing country where the majority do not have access to even elementary health care facilities, this ailment was considered the ultimate symbol of hopelessness and almost certain death. Even cancers that could be treated were often found too late, when even the most expensive treatment couldn’t stop the disease from getting worse.

Imran Khan, the legendary captain of Pakistan’s World Cup-winning cricket team, established the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, which is a charitable organisation established under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 of Pakistan in memory of his mother, Begum Shaukat Khanum (late), who succumbed to cancer. The mission of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust has been and continues to be:

“To act as a model institution to alleviate the suffering of patients with cancer through the application of modern methods of curative and palliative therapy, irrespective of their ability to pay, the education of health care professionals and the public, and perform research into the causes and treatment of cancer.”

Pakistan’s first Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) was established in Lahore in 1994. The significance of Shaukat Khanum Hospital stems not only from the fact that it was Pakistan’s first specialised centre for cancer diagnosis and treatment but also from the hope that it represents. The hospital has continued to provide quality cancer care to all segments of society, and 75 percent of all cancer patients receive financial support every year.

Since the majority of the patients presenting to the hospital came from the northern areas of the country, Pakistan’s second SKMCH&RC was constructed in Peshawar in 2015, while construction for Pakistan’s third and largest SKMCH&RC is underway in Karachi.

Today, the work of the hospital is recognised all over the world and has been recognised by the World Health Organization for “outstanding work in health development that has extended far beyond the call of normal duties.”

In 2022, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust in Lahore became the second organisation in the world to be awarded Enterprise Accreditation by the Joint Commission International. After a three-week survey in August-September 2022, our hospitals in Lahore and Peshawar, our diagnostic centres in Lahore, as well as our diagnostic centre and clinic in Karachi, were awarded the JCI’s Gold Seal of Approval.

Due to the increasing cost of providing cancer care in line with international recommendations and the upcoming construction of Pakistan’s third Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Karachi and the Clinical Tower in Lahore, we have a projected budget of PKR 39 billion for the year 2023 and need all your support to continue with our mission of fighting cancer.

Project Overview:

Each year, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, has recorded an increase in activity in all clinical areas. The hospital has always faced capacity constraints and has continued to rationalise its patient induction policy, striving to induct the largest possible number of indigent patients that it can effectively treat to the very high standards it has set itself. We continue to raise the bar for quality patient care in Pakistan, never forgetting that the core principles on which we work are those of quality and equality, trying to ensure that we provide the best possible cancer care to all our patients, irrespective of their ability to pay. However, the creation of additional physical space at the hospital in Lahore has become imperative to meet our ever-increasing workloads. As a part of this endeavor, planning is currently underway for the construction of a New Clinical Tower at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) in Lahore.

The New Clinical Tower is planned as an eleven-level building and will represent the largest expansion the hospital has witnessed since its inauguration, twenty-eight years. In addition to augmenting all our existing clinical services, the New Clinical Tower will house a new specialised bone marrow transplant unit, new imaging modalities, the latest in radiation equipment, a new emergency assessment room, chemotherapy facilities, an endoscopy suite, an inpatient floor, and will also have two floors dedicated to pathology services, providing support not only for the hospital but also for the growing network of Shaukat Khanum Laboratory Collection Centres all over Pakistan. The New Clinical Tower will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology and will be built according to the latest international healthcare standards.

Project Update:

The construction of New Clinical Tower at SKMCH&RC, Lahore will commence after the completion of SKMCH&RC, Karachi and Parking Plaza at SKMCH&RC, Lahore.  The New Clinical Tower will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology and built according to the latest international healthcare standards.