PESHAWAR, Jan 8: A 15-bed burns unit was inaugurated at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) here on Monday and a UK-based charity handed over equipment for the unit to the provincial government.

The LRH burns unit is the first facility to be dealing with burns victims in the province.

“Besides providing treatment to burns victims, the unit will also serve as a training institute for doctors, nurses and paramedics,” said Dr Tahir Hasan, head of the charity, Bridging Frontiers, while speaking at the inauguration ceremony.

Plastic surgeons would be invited from the UK to train health professionals, said Dr Hasan, who retired as professor from the LRH and now lives in Scotland.

Local staff would also be sent abroad for training, he added.

Dr Hassan said he had also visited the quake-hit areas of the province and noticed that people desperately needed a facility where reconstructive surgery could be performed. He said he felt the need for putting in place facilities for burns patients on a permanent basis.

NWFP Health Minister Inayatullah Khan, who was chief guest on the occasion, said the government was taking exemplary steps for improvement of the health sector.

“Our government considers expenditure on health as the best investment,” he said.

He thanked Dr Hasan and his team for donating valuable equipment for the burns unit. He said Dr Hasan was earning good name for the country abroad.

The minister appealed to philanthropists to come forward and make generous contributions to health and education sectors.