RAWALPINDI, June 12: The Punjab government has given a green signal to Rawalpindi Medical College to establish its nursing college from September.

Talking to Dawn, RMC Principal Dr Mussadiq Khan said the government had allowed commencement of BSc nursing classes from the next academic session of the college.

He said it would be the first nursing college in the city and second in the province after Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore.

“Nurses undergo four-year training from nursing schools established at three government-run hospitals and get a diploma which is not recognised at the international level,” he said.

After the establishment of the nursing college, the nurses would get better education and improve their qualifications. He said it would also encourage the nurses to continue their profession.

Dr Khan said the RMC would initially launch BSc nursing classes with 25 students and would increase the number of seats gradually. “The college will also accommodate male nurses who were earlier not allowed to get training in the nursing school of the college,” he said.

He said the ban had been imposed on male nurses to get education at the nursing schools adjacent to the government hospitals but it was not applicable to the RMC.

“The induction of male nurses will end the shortage of nurses in government hospitals as female nurses mostly do not continue their service after marriage or due to other domestic reasons,” he said.

According to sources, more than 100 posts of head nurses in BPS-17 are lying vacant in the three city hospitals due to absence of qualified nurses as the post required a BSc in nursing degree or higher diploma from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Islamabad.

According to official figures, the three hospitals have a total 550 nurses for 1907 beds - Holy Family Hospital (HFH) 300 nurses for 950 beds, Benazir Bhutto Hospital 190 nurses for 600 beds and DHQ Hospital has 120 nurses for 357 beds.

The World Health Organisation recommends one nurse for one patient at the operation theatre and intensive care unit and one nurse for four patients for gynecology wards.

At the HFH, four gynae wards have 96 beds for 200 patients, BBH has 63 beds for 150 patients and DHQ has to accommodate more than 100 patients in its 45-bed gynaecology ward.