Postie delivers free healthcare

11:17am Wednesday 14th May 2008

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The dream of a Watford postman to deliver free healthcare to 100,000 people in Pakistan has become a reality.

Mohammed Younis, of Bradshaw Road, has spent the past 28 years raising almost £500,000 to build the Alma Bi Hospital, in the Hafizabad district in the Punjab province, 120km from Lahore.

The hospital, named after Mohammed's mother who died from Leukaemia in 1980, held an seven-day eye clinic in November where doctors treated 1,700 people and performed 140 operations.

But earlier this year, Mohammed returned to the hospital for a five-week trip and oversaw the official opening, on March 17.

Inside the sand-coloured building, which took three years to build, there is space for 75 beds, two operating theatres, a maternity unit, an accident and emergency department, general wards, a dispensary, and facilities to provide basic health and hygiene support and advice to the local community.

The hospital also has its own ambulance, a kitchen, laundry and a mosque.

More than 2,000 people from across Punjab have already been treated by the hospital's staff, made up of four doctors, one mid-wife, eight nurses, three dispensers, one radiographer, 15 ancillary and eight administration staff.

Efforts are now being turned toward raising money for better equipment, such as an x-ray and ultrasound machine.

Mohammed, 56, said: "We have very basic equipment so people are getting treatment for their illnesses. But there's a lot of equipment still needed."

Mohammed, a Royal Mail driver and Communication Workers Union equal opportunities representative at the Ascot Road depot, established The Alma Hospital Trust in 1995, to bring healthcare to one of the poorest regions of Pakistan.

Supported at home by Royal Mail, the CWU and Watford MP Claire Ward, the charity also had extensive backing from two prominent figures in Pakistan - Sayed Shauib Shah Nawaz, a local spiritual leader and chairman of the hospital's management board; and Chaudry Liqat Abbas Bhatti, a politician and member of the National Assembly.

And Mohammed, who was awarded an MBE in 2006 for his service to charity, has thanked his area general manager Dennis Murphy and the people of Watford for their support.

He said: "I'm looking forward to having the hospital fully equipped and I hope people benefit from it, particularly the poor and needy.

"I achieved this through everyone else's support. People's support made it happen. It's a dream come true."

For more information, telephone 01923 215663 or visit www.almatrust.org.