07 January 2005	Friday	25 Ziqa'ad 1425

PESHAWAR, Jan 6: In the wake of the tsunami disaster the NWFP government has established an Emergency Medical Committee with a view to tackling an emergency situation that could be sparked any time either by natural disaster or an act of sabotage.

Sources in the provincial health department told here on Thursday that Chief Executive of the Khyber Teaching Hospital Dr Changez Hakim would head the committee, while its members Are: Dr Quaid Saeed, Dr Abdul Samad, Dr Shad Mohammad and Nadeem Ahmad.

The committee is assigned the task of formulating a plan to prepare classification of emergency like situation. The committee has also been assigned to make a proper study of availability of resources, manpower, equipment, logistic and medicines.

While ascertaining the available facilities this has been learnt that the casualty department of the Lady Reading Hospital has the capacity of only 80 beds for emergency patients, while in KTH the total number of beds in emergency department is 24 and the emergency department of HMC could accommodate only eight patients.