LAHORE: On World Anaesthesia Day observed on Friday, it has been found out that there are only 3,216 anaesthesiologists registered with the Pakistan Medical Council (previously Pakistan Medical and Dental Council) – many of them working abroad.
In every public or private hospital, more than 70 per cent of the healthcare services required involvement of anaesthesiologists to save lives of critical patients, particularly in operation theatres and intensive care units (ICU).
According to official figures, out of the 3,216 registered anaesthesiologists, 1,209 had an MCPS degree, 124 FCPS, 954 diploma in anaesthesia, 15 Diplomate of American Board, 13 FRCA and one American Board certification. However, many of them have moved abroad due to scarcity of jobs in the government sector here.
The Pakistan Society of Anaesthesia has been struggling to sensitise the authorities to the survival of this specialty by organising awareness seminars and proogrammes on World Anaesthesia Day every year on Oct 16.
The society’s Lahore chapter president, Prof Dr Khalid Bashir, shed light on the specialty. He is also the former professor of anaesthesiology at Postgraduate Medical Institute and dean of faculty of anaesthesiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan.
He said anaesthesiologists are the healthcare professionals specifically trained to deal with the total care of surgical patients, including crisis and life-threatening situations. “The specialty plays a vital role in every hospital, and more than 70pc healthcare services in a hospital require anaesthetists’ involvement.”
During the Covid-19 crisis, he said, anaesthetists were at the forefront to manage critically ill patients. “They are solely held responsible for patients’ lives during operations, compounded by long working hours, unpredictable surgical workload, transmission of infection, less financial remuneration, and compromised family life,” the senior doctor said.
He said the stress among anaesthetists is a common topic being discussed internationally, but unfortunately it has never been recognised by health authorities in Pakistan. “Sadly, the incidence of drug abuse and suicide is higher in anaesthetists as compared to other specialties due to a lack of facilities and insecurity of jobs in Pakistan,” he stressed.
Mr Bashir said the involvement of anaesthetists in multiple areas of care has resulted in their shortage all over the world. “Pakistan is also one of the sufferers of this shortage,” he said.
The factors behind this situation are lesser number of training slots, inadequate number of trainers, increasing demand worldwide, transfer of trainers to new medical colleges, difficulty in getting jobs after higher qualification, stress of the specialty, working hours, retention of trained staff and finances.
Quoting global reports, he said the World Health Organisation and World Bank expected that by 2026 the burden of diseases requiring surgery and anaesthesia will far exceed that of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. He lamented that the health authorities felt the shortage of anaesthetists, but concrete steps were not taken to meet the demand.
He said the society requests the health authority to constitute a task force or think tank to estimate the workload and required number of anaesthetists. There should be close collaboration between the Pakistan Society of Anaesthesiologists, postgraduate institutions, degree-awarding authorities and the health department to ensure recruitment of trainees, quality training and job opportunities, he concluded.
Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2020
