A MAJOR fundraising event is being held this evening in aid of a charity which has built and runs a free hospital for people in Kashmir.

The campaign was launched by Midland Doctors following an earthquake in 2005, which decimated that area of Kashmir.

The Telegraph & Argus helped raise more than £81,000 for the campaign, and the £2.3 million facility opened in 2013.

It offers free treatments to the poor, and also has treatments that can be paid for, and has plans to open new departments, but is once again asking for donations to allow the important work to be carried out.

The hospital currently has surgery theatres, with pre and post-operation services, a cardiology department, a laboratory for blood testing, X-ray and ultrasound services, children's services to improve the growth and development of youngsters, an ophthalmology department providing a range of eye treatments, as well as an outpatients department and pharmacy.

Fundraisers are due to gather at the Rio Grande, Woodhead Road, to ensure the charity can continue its work.

It costs around £300,000 per year to run the hospital.

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus, Syed Iftikhar, Chairman of the Midland Doctors Association, said: "It's in constant development.

"One of the units we want to develop is dentistry. Eventually, once we collect funds, we will establish a good quality dental surgery."

It's also aiming to open a paediatric department, including intensive care and a neonatal intensive care unit, plus an angiography suite to provide people with stents, pacemakers and angioplasty to deal with a range of heart problems.

He described seeing the impact of the hospital as "absolutely brilliant", with the quality of care provided the same as the NHS.