LAHORE – A three-member delegation from the Health Service Executive, National Ambulance Service College, Ireland, began their visit on Monday to the University of Health Sciences (UHS) to evaluate the international-standard life-saving skills training being conducted across Punjab.
The delegation is led by Prof Shane Knox, Director of Paramedicine and Adjunct Clinical Professor, University College Cork.
He is accompanied by Desmond Wade, Regional Education and Competency Assurance Officer (Advanced Paramedic) and Assistant Professor, and Padraig Glynn, Practice Development Lead – Urgent Care & Community Paramedicine and Assistant Professor, University College Cork.
The delegation held a meeting with the UHS Vice Chancellor, Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore, and faculty heads to review the quality assurance of key life-saving training modules, including cardiac care, trauma management, neonatal resuscitation and emergency obstetric care.
During the meeting, UHS VC announced the launch of a BS degree in Paramedicine and short-term certified courses for doctors, paramedics and healthcare professionals, all aligned with international standards.
UHS has maintained a decade-long strategic partnership with the Irish National Ambulance Service College, Dublin, and has trained over 50,000 healthcare professionals since 2017. From 2022 to 2025, essential life-saving training was delivered in 85 THQ hospitals, while earlier programmes covered 25 DHQ and 15 THQ hospitals under a service agreement with the health department.
Between July and October 2025, UHS conducted 65 workshops across 44 medical colleges, training 1,011 participants, including 517 providers and 494 instructors. Trauma, neonatal and obstetric emergency modules achieved near-complete coverage, while minor gaps remained in instructor-level training for CFR/BLS and triage modules. The simulation-based, train-the-trainer model strengthened emergency response capacity and laid the ground for future recertification cycles.
The delegation later visited DHQ Hospital, Sheikhupura, as part of the ongoing initiative of UHS and the Project Management Unit (PMU), Health and Population Department. The team evaluated the Cardiac First Response/Basic Life Support (CFR/BLS) workshop being conducted by UHS master trainers for doctors, consultants and nurses of the hospital.
Prof Shane Knox expressed satisfaction over the quality of instruction and skill-based training, and personally demonstrated airway management techniques to participants. He stressed the importance of initiating cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) even outside hospital settings when equipment is not immediately available.
The three-day visit is expected to strengthen academic and clinical cooperation between Pakistan and Ireland and further uplift emergency care standards across Punjab..
