KARACHI, Jan 10: There are very few, if any, well-equipped and efficient intensive care units in the country. Healthcare professionals and government officials should, therefore, look into this area , as proper critical care is the right of every patient.

This was stated at the First South Asian Congress on Critical Care Medicine, which was organized on Friday night by the Department of Anaesthesia and Surgical ICU, Dow Medical College and Civil Hospital Karachi, in collaboration with the Pakistan Society of Intensive Care (PSIC).

On the occasion, PSIC President Prof Mehdi Hasan Mumtaz said no public-sector hospital in Pakistan had a well-equipped CCU or ICU. And the standards were falling rapidly in this area of specialization.

Prof Tipu Sultan, on the other hand, claimed that the Department of Anaesthesia and Surgical ICU, Dow Medical College and Civil Hospital Karachi was among the very few units, which were providing quality services to the masses.

In his keynote address, the professor pointed out that there were 2,200 patients on average for every doctor in Pakistan. He was of the opinion that no government, whether democratic or dictatorial, had ever attached due importance to the health sector.

In the education sector too, the authorities had largely failed to benefit the masses. He said the ongoing congress would allow people from South Asian countries and the United Kingdom to learn from each other's experiences.

Prof Sultan Farooqui of the College of Physicians and Surgeons said that his institution had instituted postgraduate training in the field of intensive care, which was the right of every person.

The way forward, he said, was collaboration between the authorities and philanthropists. The donors could provide the much-needed resources to the public sector institutions.

The professor urged the philanthropists to come forward and launch public-private partnership projects with the help of government officials.

Senator Mohammadmian Soomro, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said the authorities gave special importance to education and health of the people. However, he claimed that the authorities might never be able to do what they should due to some financial constraints.

He was of the opinion that the services rendered by the philanthropists should be recognized. "This will not only encourage those, who have already sacrificed their millions for the betterment of the masses, but also encourage others to come forward and extend a helping hand."

The Senator also underscored the need for Pakistani scientists and researchers to strive towards extending the frontiers of knowledge and technology.