The air ambulance facility set to launch in Punjab next month is a great step in upgrading health infrastructure to handle accidents. Initially operational on the motorway, the air ambulances will save lives by rushing people in critical condition to hospitals. Motorway accidents have been some of the deadliest over the past years. For example, the bus that overturned on the Islamabad-Lahore Motorway near Kallar Kahar. First aid, transporting the injured, and emergency care hold the most crucial line between life and death. It is here where the government must protect its people.

This great initiative by the Punjab government also reminds us of the Rescue 1122 initiative, which has become a landmark service in the quick delivery of patients from homes and other places to hospitals. The ultimate sufferers in Pakistan’s healthcare system are people living in far-flung areas where health infrastructure is very basic and cannot intervene to save lives. In most cases, critical patients are recommended to travel to city hospitals. Once the air ambulance facility gains momentum, the health department must also focus on improving the transport infrastructure that helps deliver patients from villages to urban centers.

It is not uncommon for people to be unable to afford the cost of travel. The healthcare system must be so connected and equipped that the government bears the cost of transporting patients. Step by step, the healthcare infrastructure must come to its finest form, not just in Punjab but across the country. Initiatives like the air ambulance are very welcome and must expand quickly. The vast expanse of motorways means that an accident site might be entirely cut off, with no nearby hospital. Often, it takes hours for an accident to be noticed and reported. This is exactly why the air ambulance project is revolutionary.