Lahore:Punjab Health Ministers Khawaja Salman Rafique and Khawaja Imran Nazir visited the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Thursday to meet with a delegation from the National Ambulance Service College, Dublin, Ireland.
The two-member delegation, comprised of Robert Martin, Director of the National Ambulance Service, and Dr. Shane Knox, Director of Paramedicine, was in Lahore on a three-day visit aimed at evaluating Punjab’s healthcare training programs.
This training initiative, a collaborative effort between UHS, the National Ambulance Service College, and the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, seeks to equip 45,000 healthcare professionals across 85 tehsil hospitals in Punjab with critical life-saving skills. Training is being conducted by instructors prepared under the guidance of Irish experts, covering doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff.
The Irish delegates praised Punjab’s training program, describing it as ‘extraordinary.’ Martin highlighted the positive impact of effective proj
ect management, citing feedback from trainees. He recounted an encounter with a doctor at Muridke Tehsil Headquarters Hospital who credited the training with saving a colleague’s life. Dr. Knox commended the program’s record-keeping and digitalization, calling it ‘impressive.’
In his remarks, Minister of Specialized Healthcare Khawaja Salman Rafique said the collaboration with the National Ambulance Service College began in 2017, training 30,000 health workers in life support in its first phase. Since the second phase launched in 2022, over 22,000 additional healthcare professionals have received training. Rafique emphasized the importance of these skills, especially for emergencies, and acknowledged UHS’s leadership in the initiative.
Khawaja Imran Nazir, Minister of Primary and Secondary Healthcare, highlighted ongoing efforts to upgrade healthcare services in tehsil hospitals, in line with the Chief Minister’s vision for a healthier Punjab. Nazir added that 2,500 basic health units and 300 rural health c
enters are being renovated, strengthening healthcare access at the grassroots level.
Professor Dr. Ahsan Waheed Rathore, UHS Vice Chancellor, announced that basic life support training is being added to all university curriculums, enabling around 140,000 students to gain life-saving skills each year.
Also present were UHS Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Nadia Naseem, program focal person Professor Sarah Ghafoor, UHS Registrar Kiran Fatima, and other officials.