Meet Our Staff: Dr Haroon Hafeez

Dr Haroon: “The Hospital Schooling programme encourages children to think about a future beyond cancer. It gives them hope that they will get better.”

Dr Haroon wears many hats at Shaukat Khanum Hospitals: he is a Consultant Physician for Internal and Palliative Medicine, the Director of the Quality & Patient Safety Department, and the visionary behind the Hospital Schooling Programme for children with cancer. We asked him what inspired the creation of an education programme within the hospital.

Thank you for making time for us. Can you tell us when the Hospital Schooling Programme started?

“Our Hospital Schooling Programme formally started around 2015, and more than 700 students have graduated since then.”

What motivated you to launch the programme?

“The idea for this programme started forming after a personal experience when my nephew was undergoing treatment for blood cancer. He was very worried about missing school and getting behind in class. We spoke to his school principal who was very encouraging and eventually, he managed to stay on par with his classmates. This made me think of other children in similar situations, undergoing treatment at our hospitals. For those already in school, we started writing letters to their school principals, asking about course work, and we began helping our paediatric patients cover that work during treatment.”

What about children not enrolled in school?

“For children who never attended school, we developed a workbook with support from private school teachers. Completing this workbook helped them learn English, Urdu, and Math at a class 1 level. We also offered play therapy to help them focus on learning while diverting attention from their illness. Most importantly, these activities can promote a positive response to treatment.”

Do you have a message for our donors this Ramadan about supporting this initiative?

“The Hospital Schooling Programme encourages children to think about a future beyond cancer. It gives them hope that they will get better.”

This year, as Shaukat Khanum Hospitals celebrate 30 years of service, our founder is unable to make an appeal to mark this significant milestone. In his absence, we hope you will continue to support our patients and move us a step closer to opening a new hospital in Karachi.