Sindh plans opening of trauma centers in teaching hospitals

KARACHI: Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Sindh held an online meeting regarding trauma centers in teaching hospitals of the province.

Parliamentary Secretary of Health, Qasim Siraj Soomro and Secretary Health, Dr. Kazim Jatoi were in attendance. Prof. Dr. Saeed Qureshi VC DUHS, Prof. Dr. Aneela Atta-ur-Rehman VC SMBBMU, Prof. Dr. Gulshan Ali Memon VC PUMHS and Prof. Dr. Bikharam Devrajani VC LUMHS also joined via video-link.

The Minister for Health Dr. Azra Pechuho stated that teaching hospitals across the province must have uniform standards in order to provide the best possible care to critical condition and trauma patients.

She said since traumas are becoming a regular occurrence in the world, given increasing traffic and road development and in light of this there must be an upgrading of all division level tertiary hospitals in the province in order to be able to accommodate responses to trauma.

Dr Azra Pechuho told the meeting that nurses and other healthcare professionals will be specifically trained in understanding and responding to trauma and operation theatres will be equipped in order to cater to trauma injuries. Teaching Hospitals must confer and summarize their needs in terms of human resources and equipment, so the Sindh Health Department can best aim to provide them, she emphasised.

In case of a vacancy of medical staff, there can be an affiliation between universities and a contractual employment system can be arranged.

The health minister suggested a network of small scale trauma centers along the highway in the province for immediate response in a trauma crisis. These small scale centers will be connected to the tertiary hospitals that must all be equipped with the facilities that allow for critical care of trauma injuries, she added.