KARACHI, May 20: Considering the frequent terrorist actions, which are already taking place in Karachi, and which are likely to occur quite often in future as well , every private and public sector hospital here should train its staff in issues of trauma.

This was stated on Thursday by speakers at the inaugural session of the Third Course on Trauma, being organised by the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). Sixteen doctors, working for various healthcare centres - including those from AKUH, Civil Hospital Karachi, Ziauddin Medical University Hospital and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre - are participating in the course.

The speakers - Dr Rifat Rehmani, Dr Farhat Abbas, Dr Muhammad Khurshid and Nadeem Mustafa Khan - on the occasion said trauma was one of the leading causes of death and disability throughout the world, especially in the developing countries where terrorism was a big problem.

Therefore, hospitals should get their emergency staff trained in the area of trauma medicine. "The best way forward in a difficult situation is by getting ready for the worst," remarked one of them.

They claimed that the earlier two trauma courses had helped raise the standards not only at the AKUH but also at other hospitals of the city. The third course would help raise the standards further, they added.

The speakers said a curriculum had specially been prepared for the course and 16 faculty members were involved in imparting training to participants of the course. The faculty-to-participant ratio was, thus, an excellent one.

The course involved hands-on training as well as lecture-based learning, added the speakers. Meanwhile, the AKUH was consulting with both the provincial health department and the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) so that initiatives could be undertaken in the field of trauma management, said Dr Rifat Rehmani.

He said that AKUH wanted to organise a province-wide training programme in which professionals from public-sector district hospitals could take part. "This would raise the standard in the public-sector throughout the province. We are in touch with the health department for this programme who are likely to approve our plans."

In response to a question, Dr Rehmani said the curriculum made specially for the three-day trauma course could be used during the proposed plan as well." "Similarly," he said, "We are in consultation with the CPSP too because we want to help develop a fellowship in emergency medicine," adding that under this programme, training would be imparted in all provinces of the country.