Precaution: Varsities directed to arrange emergency medical care

HED asks universities to establish emergency rooms

LAHORE: The Higher Education Department (HED) has directed all universities to make arrangements for providing medical care to students in emergency cases.

In a letter to vice chancellors and rectors, the HED has directed them to ensure provision of medical facilities at campuses. “A well-equipped medical emergency room should be established within the premises of your university, if already not in existence, and well-qualified medical Higher Education DepartmentHigher Education Departmentstaff, medical officers including women medical officers and paramedical staff should be deployed there round-the-clock.”

The letter asked universities to ensure that an ambulance was stationed on the university premises for transporting any patient to a nearby hospital in case of emergency.

Furthermore, universities were directed to seek the services of nearby hospitals for secondary/tertiary healthcare for serious emergency cases.

The decision came after a student, Moeen Manzoor, lost his life allegedly due to the lack of medical facilities at University of Management and Technology (UMT). Citing the incident in the letter, the HED stated: “To provide health services to their students is the cardinal obligation of educational institutions. The Government of the Punjab has taken a serious view of sudden passing away of a student of a private sector university due to heart attack within university premises. Had there been medical facilities and medical staff available in the university, the departure of an innocent soul could have been averted.” When contacted, UMT Public Relations Officer Shabbir Ahmad said that the university provided medical facilities on its premises. “We request [the] media.....to come to our campus and see for themselves the facilities being provided,” he said.

He also said that UMT had established a School of Health Sciences. “A hospital is being established on the premises,” he said.

Earlier, the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team (CMIT) had presented its inquiry report to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif regarding Manzoor’s death. The three-member team was headed by CMIT Chairman Irfan Ali. According to the inquiry report, the cause of death was heart failure. The report said that emergency care was not available at the university at the time of the incident.

The chief minister had directed the HED and the Health Department secretaries to consider implementation of recommendations of the CMIT with regard to availability of emergency medical facilities in private and public sector universities. He has also constituted a committee comprising vice chancellors of several private universities to propose practical measures in accordance with academic needs in universities during summer vacations.

An uncle of the deceased had filed a petition before a district and sessions judge seeking a case against UMT administration, including Rector Hassan Sohaib Murad, Director Abid Sherwani, Administration Manager Ibrar. The petitioner said that a Rescue 1122 ambulance was called to the scene, but it had not been allowed to enter the university.

According to the petition, Manzoor had been taken to a dispensary for first aid but no doctor was present there. “By the time the ambulance was allowed into the university, the student had died,” the petitioner stated. He had requested the court to direct the SHO to register an FIR against the UMT administration whose negligence had caused the death of his nephew.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2016.