Punjab to launch Emergency Rescue 1122 service on motorways by December

Lahore: Provincial Minister for Specialized Healthcare Khawaja Salman Rafique announced that the Punjab government would launch the Emergency Rescue 1122 service on motorways in December this year.

The University of Health Sciences (UHS) would assist in training the rescue personnel.

Rafique emphasized the importance of utilizing universities as think tanks, a resource previously underutilized, and stated that UHS’s support would be sought continually in the future.

He made these remarks while presiding over a meeting at UHS on Monday, which was attended by Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ahsan Waheed Rathore, Chairman of the Board of Directors PIC Prof. Dr. Farqad Alamgir, Pro-VC UHS Prof. Nadia Naseem, and other faculty members and officers.

Earlier, Khawaja Salman Rafique visited the UHS facilitation center, where Vice Chancellor Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathore briefed him on the services provided to students. Rafique interacted with students at the center and expressed his admiration for the facilities, noting that hundreds of students are served daily.

He praised UHS's exceptional services under the Vice Chancellor’s leadership and mentioned his long-standing, 12- to 13-year relationship with the university. He highlighted the presence of 32 Ph.D. faculty members at UHS and suggested increasing this number. Rafique also announced plans to visit the university’s new campus next week.

UHS VC Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathore thanked the Provincial Health Minister for his visit, noting that the facilitation center serves 300 to 400 students and visitors daily. This center is the university's first point of contact, providing services related to degrees, registration, and examinations.

Prof. Rathore stated that university laboratories are equipped with the latest equipment and have the potential to become centers of excellence in diagnostic services. With government support, the laboratories could function as a referral lab for all of Punjab, he opined.

Professor Rathore also highlighted the role of UHS in the standardization of medical, dental, and nursing education. He advocated for allied health sciences and pharmacy education to be separated from general universities to achieve similar standardization. Pro VC Professor Nadia Naseem highlighted UHS's distinctive research initiatives, noting that UHS is the only university in Punjab to achieve a QS world ranking based on research.