KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed on Thursday delivered the keys of what officials called 25 ‘advance life-support’ ambulances to health officials and heads of hospitals of 17 districts of Sindh.

The minister said the ambulances costing Rs196 million were part of the same scheme according to which eight such ambulances costing Rs51.42 million had been delivered to the teaching hospitals three years ago.

The ambulances were delivered at a ceremony held at the I.I. Depot on the Rafiqui Shaheed Road .

The minister said his department was working on a comprehensive programme to strengthen ambulance service infrastructure across the province so that critically injured patients could be shifted with ventilator facility for saving their lives.

Such facility was not available at public sector hospitals in the past, he added.

Dr Ahmed said it was heartening for him that a better ambulance system was being shaped in the province, which was non-existent in the past when not a single ventilator-equipped ambulance was available in public sector hospitals.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2014