Police hold mock exercises at churches

LAHORE

City police on Saturday carried out mock exercises in various churches here in the provincial capital in a bid to ensure preparedness to meet any emergency situation.

 The officials and personnel of the police, Dolphin squad, PRU, Elite and other law-enforcement agencies participated in the rehearsals. The mock drills were carried out in different churches in Model Town Division police, Cvil Lines Division police and City Division police.

Rescue officers: Punjab Emergency Services Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer reviewed preparedness of districts keeping in view the present security situation across the country.

Addressing all the district emergency officers at Emergency Services Academy on Saturday, he asked them to ensure the highest level of preparedness and alertness to deal any kind of untoward incident through well-coordinated emergency response.

Following the directions of the chief minister, the DG reviewed the progress of implementation of the project of Patient Transfer Service/Patient Referral System, being  implemented across Punjab on trial basis. He was briefed that total 507 ambulances of Health Department had been handed over to Rescue 1122 so far and Rescue 1122 had referred/shifted 5,944 emergency critical patients from primary to specialised healthcare facilities. He expressed his satisfaction on the progress of the project. The progress regarding the recruitment of staff for Motorbike Ambulance Service was also reviewed. The inconvenience faced by the patients previously due to the absence of an effective referral system was also discussed. The meeting also discussed the progress regarding establishment of an Emergency Service in the remaining 62 tehsils of Punjab.

The DG highlighted the importance of diligent evaluation of rescuers while categorising them in A, B, C categories so that hard working rescuers could be given incentives. He said that those rescuers should be included in A category who performed beyond their office hours, assigned duties or key performance indexes. He said that obese, overweight and physically unfit rescuers should be included in C category and such officials were misfit for a lifesaving emergency service.

Dr Rizwan Naseer asked the DEOs to ensure cleanliness of rescue stations and emergency vehicles. In this meeting, the issue of establishment of Ambulance Services Desk in emergency departments of teaching hospitals of Punjab was discussed. The DEOs appreciated the idea of Ambulance Services Desk.Meanwhile, the director general and other officers offered Dua for the blast victims in Lahore and other parts of the country.

Motorway police: The Motorway Police N-5 Central has been established 30 wake-up points at various locations on national highways at central zone. The initiative has been taken to refresh tired drivers to avoid road accidents due to dozing at wheel. Motorway police officials stop all kinds of vehicles at these spots for some time to help drivers freshen-up said by DIG Mirza Faran Baig while inspecting the wake point on national highways. 

DIG Mirza Faran Biag said initiative has been taken to ensure road safety by attempting to reduce instances of traffic accidents caused due to people falling asleep while driving. Being fatigued significantly increases the risk of a crash. They stress the need to wash faces, consume hot beverages and take short walks to remain alert. It makes us less aware of what is happening on the road and impairs our ability to respond quickly and safely if a dangerous situation arises, added  DIG Mirza Faran Biag said driver fatigue is believed to important factor to contribute road crashes. Fatigue can be a serious issue when drivers may be travelling long distances in a single day. The highest risk period is often the last stage of the trip when drivers know they are getting tired but home is close and they choose to stay behind the wheel, he added.