The rampage of coronavirus continues. No doubt, real challenges emanating from the pandemic lie ahead. Our final battle against coronavirus will be fought in hospitals. Will our fragile public health system withstand the battering of this unprecedented tsunami? Apparently, no! However, learning from the experience of Italy, Spain, Iran and many other countries, our best bet in this fight would be to prepare for the worst. To prepare a medical contingency plan, we need to identify the gaps, know the needs, and address these gaps and needs in advance.
Broadly speaking, the healthcare system in Pakistan consists of public and private health care facilities; extending tertiary, secondary and primary healthcare services. Years of low budgetary allocation by federal and provincial governments has badly dented the capacity of our already weak healthcare system.
The human resource is deficient; machinery and medicine are insufficient; infrastructure is battered and worn-out. Protective gears are missing, and complaints of non-availability of reagents and testing kits are rampant.
A few suggestions are given to address some of the gaps and needs to cater for the requirements of the healthcare facilities in coming days.
To begin with, there is a dire need of trained human resource to extend medical facilities to the coronavirus patients. To address the deficiency of specialists, doctors, nurses and lab experts, it will be more appropriate, if the provincial governments immediately hire services of the recently retired health professionals on contractual basis.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has judiciously decided to import necessary protective gears, ventilators, masks and gloves etc. According to NDMA Chairman (NDMA) Lt-Gen Muhammad Afzal, the government will acquire 10,000 additional ventilators in coming weeks. The current number of ventilators – 2,200 – in the country is way less than the estimated requirement in coming weeks. However, if needed the governments may also bring in use the available CCAPs as substitutes to the ventilators.
To begin with, there is a dire need of trained human resource to extend medical facilities to coronavirus patients. To address the shortage of specialists, doctors, nurses and lab experts, it will be more appropriate, if the provincial governments immediately hire services of the recently retired health professionals on contractual basis
Healthcare providers are our frontline fighters in this battle. We need to provide them with every possible protective gear to keep them safe while performing their duties. It is encouraging to learn, the NDMA has already started on arrangement of one million masks, including at least 50,000 N-95 masks. This will boost the confidence of the healthcare professionals who are exposed to the threat.
WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has rightly emphasized on testing of every suspected case. However, tests to determine the positive cases and further isolate them are limited due to the shortage of testing kits and availability of PCR machines. For testing kits, the NDMA is confident to get 5,000 of them by the end of this week. As to the PCR machines for corona testing, the provincial governments may seek assistance of the private sector, who have these facilities. Given the shortage of beds in hospitals, as a contingency plan, the elective surgeries can be postponed, and the beds in recovery rooms are utilized for enhancing the bedding capacity of the hospitals.
Most hospitals are making contingency plans. There are plans to add physical beds by cancelling elective surgeries that can be postponed, converting recovery rooms into added beds and building tents to house some patients.
Coronavirus pandemic has upended the life of every person. There is chaos and confusion everywhere. Children are out of schools, adults are inside homes, religious congregations are thin, roads are empty and shopping malls are closed. Perhaps, the best strategy to defeat this invisible enemy is to stay indoors, avoid socialization and support our healthcare providers in every possible way.
The writer is Secretary to Government of Balochistan for Industries & Commerce Department Email id: majid_buhair @yahoo.com