A CHARITY gig raised around £450 for a cash-strapped hospital in Pakistan to help prevent thousands of deaths from heart disease.

Dr Matt Banks, acting medical director at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, made music with his band 4.O.M at the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath, Birmingham, on December 23 2016 to raise money for Bewal International Hospital.

The state-of-the-art hospital in the Pothohar region of Pakistan was built thanks to the tireless fundraising of Dudley consultant vascular surgeon, Atiq ur-Rehman, on land donated by his uncle.

Dr Banks, a consultant cardiologist (pictured below) who plays bass with the Midlands progressive rock band, said: “Bewal International Hospital is the first of its kind. It provides health services to more than 300,000 people in a very poor region.

Halesowen News:

“The region of Pothohar is very poor, and whilst many health services are free at the point of use, there is a limit in terms of what can be achieved due to a lack of funding, available resources, and knowledge about how to treat heart related conditions.”

He said the money raised from the December 23 gig will help to fund a small team of UK-based based cardiologists to deliver educational programmes to health professionals and local communities - on how best to treat and prevent the disease in the first place.

Dr Bank added: “The cardiologists will also be spending their time working closely with their counterparts in Pakistan, to pass on their knowledge and skills, and to advise on best practice for certain procedures."

Mr Rehman, from Lye, (pictured below) opened Bewal International Hospital in his home village of Bewal, Tehsil Gujar Khan, Pakistan, in 2010, after a £1million fundraising campaign over five years.

Halesowen News: Atiq-ur Rehman

The state-of-the-art, five-storey hospital was dedicated to the memory of his late father Abdul Rehman - a popular figure in the Lye community.