LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued a second notice to the Punjab government in a petition seeking directions for the government to establish burn units and appoint trained staff to avoid Ahmadpur Sharqia like incident which claimed lives of at least 190 people.

Justice Muhammad Sajid Mehmood Sethi passed the order on petition moved by Young Doctors Association.

On July 6, Justice Sethi had issued notices but the law officer was unable to seek instructions from provincial government and judge again sought reply. The judge issued notices again to the government with directions to it to submit parawise comments till July 17.

Advocate Sheraz Zaka, the petitioner’s counsel, argued that the provincial health development centre along with 31 sub-institutes have been closed as a result of redundancy of trained staff which were utilised to train the doctors and nurses. He argued that by closure of provincial health development centre in Lahore along with 31 sub-institutes, the training of doctors and nurses working in government hospitals has stopped.

He pointed out that there was no trained staff in burn units of hospitals located in Lahore and Multan to treat the patients who succumbed to their injuries due to oil tanker’s explosion in Ahmadpur Sharqia in Bahawalpur. He pleaded that the Punjab government be stopped from closing the provincial health development centre and its 31 sub-institutes arguing that without approval of services and General administration, the provincial health development centre cannot be closed.

In case, it was permanently closed then every doctor and nurse would be deprived of training to tackle the endemic diseases like cholera, burn, dengue fever/virus and other diseases, he contended. The counsel said that entire health budget was being spent on Orange Train project. After hearing arguments of the petitioner’s counsel, Justice Sethi issued notices to respondents.