Abdus Salam Khan, MD FACP – September, 2016
Our health care system never developed to cater to our own citizen in a decent manner, and access to healthcare is still a dream for more than 25 percent of the population in their entire life time. The rest of citizen enjoy a fragmented system in which care is neither standardized nor guaranteed. This requires a fix in order for people to trust the system.
Improving this system is the responsibility of all of us. If everyone understands and performs their role in the system then the system will improve and become better. All aspects of the system needs to be improved but in order to be more effective it is my feeling that those factors needed to be addressed which can create the most impact.
Emergency department due to nature of the work require immediate attention in this regards. This is the first contact of the patients when they have an accident or they think their illness is severe enough that they can’t wait. They come for the care they deserve but unfortunately the emergency departments across Pakistan are overcrowded and understaffed. The level of competence and training is low and expectations are mostly unmet.
Working to improve the emergency care for the past 7 years in Pakistan and visiting different private and public hospitals, it is my feeling that as nation we have not started thinking about giving priority to the emergency departments. We are still in the mode of developing the specialty care and not thinking strategically regarding emergency care. This results in further deterioration of the emergency departments as largely no ownership of the functioning of it.
It was indeed a very good experience to be asked to give technical advice to one of the busiest public hospitals in Pakistan. The experience was heartwarming to see interest of the board of the hospital to improve the emergency department. We looked at the new structure that was erected for the hospital and also the current facilities for the care. We gave them advice and the understanding regarding the processes that needed to be set when the emergency care in the new area would be started. It was felt that the newer understanding regarding emergency departmental functioning was lacking and that gave us a chance to educate the members about the subject. We educated them regarding triage and the priority system and its importance. We also educated them regarding goals of treatment and quality indicators for the emergency care.
Interactions like this make us feel good about the future. We feel that we are winning heart and minds regarding emergency care in Pakistan and making forward moves. The involvement of the public sector is a healthy sign, and it can be seen as paving the way into this important area where a small interaction in right direction can create a big impact in both patient satisfaction as well as functioning of the whole hospital.
This is indeed a real public issue that should not be dealt for political point scoring and taken as a joint effort for all citizens of Pakistan. This is the need of the time and can only be a success with the help of all Pakistanis. We have sent plenty of human resource out of country to provide best care to the world, isn’t this time that we ask for their help in this regard. They will be more than willing to provide technical, intellectual and direct medical care for our emergency departments.
I can be reached at askhan65@yahoo.com