RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) will finish upgrading Cantonment General Hospital (CGH) by Oct 20, after it received Rs572 million from the federal government.

Former prime minister Shahid Khagan Abbasi had given the RCB a special grant of Rs562m in April in this regard, but the funds were stopped because of the general election and released in September.

The government will also pay the RCB Rs115m annually to manage the hospital`s affairs.

This annual grant will continue until 2023, after which the RCB will run its affairs using its own resources.

A senior RCB official told Dawn a three-member committee had been formed to install new machinery atthe hospital, and all the members are from the biomedical field.

The RCB will also install an incinerator at the hospital for medical waste, he said.

A one-room building will be constructed and the machinery will be installed under the supervision of experts.

The RCB will upgrade 14 departments at the hospital, including the medicine, ear, nose and throat, eye, gynaecology, cardiology and emergency departments, among others.

He said the RCB will buy two ambulances that will also serve as mini dispensaries to provide first aid to critical patients. Five regular ambulances will also be added to the hospital`s fleet.

The official said the RCB has already spent Rs180m of its own resources to improve the hospital`s structure and sewerage system, which caused problems when it rainedbecause water used to accumulate in the basement.

Rawalpindi Cantonment Board spokesperson Qaisar Mehmood said work has begun, as has the installation of machinery.

He said that for the recruitment of doctors and paramedical staff, the RCB will again invite applications for 40 posts.

Some people selected for the posts found jobs in other organisations, he said, which is why they are inviting more applications.

Tenders for the ambulances and other machinery will also be Irecalled due to a difference of rates.

The RCB has decided to buy ambulances and other important equipment directly from companies in order to save money, he said.

Mr Mehmood said all the recruitments and the procurement of machinery were merit-based, and no official or political interference was reportedin the process.