Faiz Al-Najdi Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Pakistan Doctor's Group-Riyadh (PDGR) organized the sixth free medical camp under the aegis and patronage of the Embassy of Pakistan here. The medical camp is an annual event which is aimed at providing clinical consultation, medical tests and diagnostic procedures and medicines to Pakistanis from the low income strata, especially those who are not in possession of medical insurance and are not able to afford the expensive medical care. Themed around “prevention is better than the cure,” this year's medical camp was a great success and broke all previous records. More than 2,000 patients visited and benefited from the medical camp. A total of 120 specialized Pakistani and Saudi — specializing in cardiology, neurology and neurosurgery, nephrology, urology, plastic surgery obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, psychology, rheumatology, ENT, ophthalmology, pediatrics, endocrinology, radiology, hematology and oncology, gastroenterology, general surgery, family medicine and dentists — untiringly attended to the patients from 2:00 pm until 7:30 pm Patients were offered electronic queuing tokens for the first time and the embassy staff worked diligently to give tokens to each arriving patient. Free blood sugar levels, blood pressure, ECG and Ultrasounds of almost all kinds were conducted depending upon each patients' needs. Echocardiograms and various other laboratory tests were also provided to the patients who required them. Free medicines, as prescribed by the doctors, were also provided. Another main feature at the event was providing patients and attendees with knowledge and training on the concept of “prevention is better than the cure.” Lectures were presented on public health awareness and lifestyle modifications, managing high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, among others. These lectures were programed and conducted by Dr. Aban Usmani and Dr. Irfan Khan. Attendees duly acknowledged the benefits that they received from the lectures. About 150 volunteers from all over Riyadh were present to provide help and assistance and to the visiting patients. The young boys and girls volunteers were mostly from Pakistan International School - English Section (PIS-ES), Pakistan Cultural Group, Indus Group and Pakistan Engineers Group and from several other volunteer organizations. Free transport was provided by the embassy to transport the patients to the Embassy of Pakistan in diplomatic quarters. For this purpose, a shuttle bus service was available at various locations in Riyadh — Shamesi roundabout, Madinah Restaurant in Sanaiyyah, and from Hayat Restaurant in Haiyya Al-Wazarat. This shuttle bus service proved beneficial to those who didn't have a transport of their own. Long queues of patients waiting to be transported to the medical camp were seen at these mentioned points. Charge d'Affaires Khayyam Akbar along with senior officers of the Pakistan Embassy visited the camp and met with the patients and the doctors at every medical booth. Akbar expressed his satisfaction and appreciated the initiative and efforts of PDGR and its executive board members for helping arrange such a useful free medical camp. He appreciated the Pakistani and Saudi doctors, Saudi medical technologists, nurses, echo-cardiographers, pharmacists, among others. He also extended his thanks and appreciations to the President of PDGR Dr. Sohail Inam and Chairman of PDGR Dr. Riaz Javed Khawaja. Inam praised for General Secretary Dr. Asad Roomi for providing full assistance to him in arranging all logistics for hosting this free medical camp. He also acknowledged the efforts of secretary embassy clinic Dr. Lubna Siddiqui and finance secretary Dr. Nasir Saeed for making this camp a great success. Inam also thanked Akbar, Head of Chancery Abbas Sarwar Qureshi, Commercial Attaché Waseem Hayat Bajwa, Defense Attaché Brigadier Tahir Gulzar Malik and Air & Naval Attaché Air Commodore Ibrahim Asad for their help and support. He extended his thanks to Dr. Erum Qalbani for arranging food and drinks for doctors and patients, and to Amir Shehzad and Tanvir of Knowledge Core for providing technological supports for this camp. Speaking with Saudi Gazette, Akbar mentioned that he was aware of the need of such a free medical camp in other parts of the Kingdom especially in remote areas. “I would work with PDGR to arrange for such a medical camp to service the poor and the needy Pakistanis in other cities as well.”
