ISLAMABAD: The management of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has decided to establish a ladies park in the hospital.

The park will also have a jogging track and will be available for female staff of the hospital. In a one of its kind decision, the management of the hospital has started development work and plantation.

Pims spokesperson Dr Haider Abbasi, while talking to Dawn said that although the hospital discouraged patients to bring more than one attendant along with them but be cause ofthe culture ofPakistan, alarge number of attendants come to the hospital.

`The management has decided to establish a ladies park so they could go there for walks. It would not only encourage women who usually avoid walking and other physical activities, to start walk but at the same time the rush of attendants in the hospital will decrease,` he said.

He said that the park was the brain child of Pims Executive Director Professor Naeem Malik and according to his knowledge it will be the only example in public and private sector hospitals of Islamabad.

`Being a cardiologist, Dr Malik believes that physical activities such as jogging and walk keep peoplehealthy and chances of a number of diseases including cardiovascular diseases are reduced,` he said.

He said that in Pakistan, 25pc of adults were diabetic and it showed that the whole nation had a tendency to relaxrather than engage in physical activities.

`We want to give awareness to masses that they should start at least walk, if notjogging, because people will remain healthy and it will ultimately decrease the burden from hospitals.

Joggingtrack at the hospital is the best effort to give awareness to masses,` he said, adding that a separate and renovated building for School of Nursing has been completed and advanced endoscopy facilities likeEndoscopic Ultrasound and Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) were also made functional in the hospital.

It is worth mentioning that ERCP is a procedure that combines upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and x-rays to treat problems of the bile and pancreatic ducts.

`The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine is being installed and will be functional soon,` he said.

Pims is one of the largest hospitals of Pakistan and on an average 10,000 to 15,000 patients visit the hospitalon a daily basis. As on an average, two attendants come to the hospital along with each patient so the number of visitors reach 30,000 per day.