PESHAWAR: Provincial Minister for Health Taimur Saleem Jhagra has said that the Khyber Medical University has become the first public sector institution to launch PhD in nursing, a step that will strengthen patient care and will lead to better treatment of the people.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the programme on Thursday, he said that it was his mission to make all the health facilities in the province from basic health units to tertiary care hospitals functional for the treatment of patients for which KMU was playing vital role.

“The role that KMU is playing in the training of medical personnel including doctors, nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists in fulfilling this mission is a practical example of excellent teamwork and professional use of resources,” he said.

KMU Vice-chancellor Prof Ziaul Haq, Special Secretary Health Dr Syed Farooq Jamil and others were also present on the occasion.

The minister said that they were all proud of the exemplary role played by KMU during the last 10 years in gradually bringing diploma courses in various fields of medical education up to BS, MS and PhD levels.

He said that education and health were among the top priorities of the government and work was underway on several major projects in that regard. He said that the biggest challenge for the government was to make all the small and big health centres of the province functional through provision of trained staff and other necessary facilities to them.

The minister said that the services rendered by KMU Public Health Reference Laboratory during the Covid-19 pandemic were unforgettable and it was expected that it would continue the series of services in other fields with the same professional spirit.

Earlier, Prof Ziaul Haq gave a detailed briefing on the Institute of Liver Transplant besides ongoing educational activities in the fields of public health, basic medical sciences, nursing sciences, physiotherapy, medical education and paramedics.

He said that before the inception of KMU, only diploma courses in nursing, paramedics and other fields of allied health sciences were conducted in the province which were gradually upgraded to BS, MS, MPhil. and PhD levels during the last 10 years.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2020