KARACHI: Trauma Centre not to be privatized, says minister
KARACHI, April 12: Provincial Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh has said that the trauma centre and children hospital in Karachi would not be privatized.
He was addressing the first National Seminar on Hormonal Disorders organized by the Pakistan Endocrine Society at the Aga Khan University Hospital on Saturday.
“We will put up this case in the forthcoming cabinet meeting,” the minister said and added that 90 per cent construction of the trauma centre and children hospital had been completed, and on this stage the two national projects should not be privatized.
The minister, who was the chief guest on the occasion, assured that the government accorded foremost priority to the health sector with the objective to ensure proper and effective dispensation of health facilities.
Pointing out constrains and issues facing the health sector, the minister listed the menace of corruption, lack of trained staff and reluctance on the part of doctors to serve in rural areas as major problems.
“It is incumbent upon doctors to pursue research-based education and training, besides keeping themselves abreast with the expeditious changes taking place in the field globally.
“Monumental and drastic changes have taken place over the years and the research aspect has gained considerable significance. Overlooking this aspect amounts to gross negligence,” said the minister
Mr Imtiaz Sheikh lamented that more than 400 health centres in Sindh, because of financial constrains and improper planning, had been closed down, and consequently an overwhelming number of people were facing hardships, being unable to sustain the increasing cost of treatment.
Dr Jamal Raza, an endocrinologist associated with the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), in his presentation, said malnutrition was the most common factor contributing to physical growth retardation in local children.
He said short stature was the commonest hormonal problem, mostly due to delayed diagnosis and inadequate medical intervention. He informed that some 200 to 300 such children from Karachi, the interior of Sindh and Balochistan were registered at NICH every year.
Underscoring the need for timely diagnosis, he said that responsibility lied with both parents and general physicians to ensure proper and regular growth monitoring.
He said the growth rate could be easily gauged when the child was two years of age, and that was the ideal time period to start proper treatment.
“Short stature could also be due to other factors as malfunctioning of the thyroid glands, or the child might be suffering from the malabsorption problem and/or the skeletal problem known as “Achondroplasia,” he said and added that those conditions were easily treatable at affordable costs.
However, about the growth hormone deficiency, he said the treatment was expensive amounting to Rs20,000 to Rs30,000 per month, till affected children reached the age of puberty.
He said that hormonal therapy, administered to patients even for a short duration, did leave a positive impact.
Dr Abdul Basit of the Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology, in his presentation on “What is New in Diabetes”, stressed that prevention from very early age was needed to avoid diabetes incidence among local children with family history of the disease.
He warned that sedentary lifestyle would place Pakistan as a country with the fourth highest incidence rate of diabetes by the year 2025. He added that currently Pakistan was reported to have the eighth highest incidence rate of the disease.
It was further said that diabetes type-two was being more commonly registered among children, which might lead to a higher rate of heart attacks in adults the years to come.
He suggested proper training and regular refresher programmes for general practitioners who might then be motivated to establish clinics in peripheral areas.
Dr Zaman Sheikh, chairperson of the scientific committee of the seminar, in his speech said that endocrinological problems were largely overlooked mainly due to lack of awareness in physicians. He said endocrinology should be included as a separate subject in FCPS part II.
Dr Naeem ul Haq, President of the Pakistan Endocrinology Society, in his address, highlighted the objectives of the conference and pledged that the Society would continue organizing similar events regularly.
He said it was gratifying to note that endocrinology had finally been recognized as an important sub-specialty in Pakistan.
Dr Najmul Islam and Dr Ata Khan of the Aga Khan University, Dr Qamar Masood of the Baqai Institute of Endocrinology, Dr Khurram Shahid of the Liaquat National Hospital, Dr Zakir Alvi, Dr Yakoob Ahmedani, Dr Imran Patel, Dr Tasneem Ahsan, Dr Ayesha Habib, Dr Lubna Zubairi and Dr Ziaul Hasan also spoke on the occasion. — PPI/APP
