ISLAMABAD:Health experts on Saturday urged to have a strong emergency care system at private and public hospitals to avoid 10 leading causes of death from acute cardiovascular disease to road injuries and stroke.
Medical Director of Maroof Int’l Hospital (MIH) Dr. Mir. Abdul Waheed said while addressing the participants at an event organized by Maroof International Hospital Islamabad on the occasion of International Emergency Medicines Day 2023 with the theme “Your Safety – Our Priority”.
He said that there is an insufficient number of Emergency Medicine (EM) Specialists and a large gap in quality emergency care provision.
Dr. Mir Waheed said, “Having emergency medical teams available, and ready to deploy is crucial when we respond to major outbreaks and disasters.”
He said that according to the curriculum of the College of Emergency Medicine (CEM) United Kingdom, EM is a field of practice based on the knowledge and skills required for the prevention, diagnosis, and management of the acute and urgent aspects of illness and injury affecting patients of all age groups with a full spectrum of undifferentiated physical
and behavioral disorders.
He added it is a speciality in which time is critical while the first hour is called “the golden hour” in a patient’s recovery. “If
a trained EM consultant is available who diagnoses and treats the patient in a timely fashion, the outcomes will be different. Studies have proved that most deaths occur in the first hour of trauma.”
He said that the College of Physicians and Surgeons has started a fellowship program in this regard, and many people
are coming to this field. “Still we need a lot more people. I request my junior colleagues to adopt EM as a career.”
CEO Maroof Int’l Hospital, Haroon Naseer said that developed countries have emergency medicine systems and well-designed special training programs for medical personnel specializing in EM while EM in developing countries is still evolving.
He said that the purpose of observing EM Day is to raise awareness about the importance of free and high-quality emergency medical care and to encourage the policymakers to develop EM systems in the country with a particular
focus on underdeveloped and remote areas.
Corporate Head MIH Mrs. Rubina Afzal said that Emergency Medicine Day commemorates the founding of the
European Society for EM established on May 27, 1994, at the Int’l Conference of Emergency Medicine in London.