New intensive care facility for children launched at Aga Khan Hospital

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

A brand new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit was inaugurated at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, on May 23.

Specially designed to treat children fighting life-threatening diseases, the new 5,500 square foot, Rs 200 million, eight-bed facility will facilitate many more infants, toddlers and pre-teens whose fragile health requires special attention. 

A quick glance at Pakistan’s child mortality rates highlights the urgent need for dedicated facilities to treat children facing complicated diseases. 

One in 11 children die before their fifth birthday and one in 66 infants lose their lives before the age of one, according to Unicef’s State of Children in Pakistan report. Over the past five years, the university’s teaching hospital at Stadium Road, Karachi, has noticed a three-fold increase in children requiring intensive care. 

The new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) will provide personalized care to around 400 at-risk children every year thereby helping address the shortage of intensive care facilities for children. 

Outlining the need for a PICU, Interim Head of the Division for Women and Child Health Professor Iqtidar Ahmad Khan noted: “At present many critically ill children continue to receive treatment alongside adults in intensive care units even though a child’s needs are different to that of an adult.”

“A dedicated facility will improve the availability of specialists for ailing children and also create a more comfortable environment for parents seeking the best treatment for their child,” he added. 

The new facility has eight large rooms whose open spaces have been designed to enable a variety of specialists to collaborate in treating the child. 

A dedicated waiting area is present for families and a parent can be with the child in the room whenever s/he is awake. Every room is equipped with state-of-the-art ventilators and advanced syringe pumps to administer essential medicines. Monitoring systems constantly track breathing, heart function and electrical activity in the brain. 

The PICU also houses two negative pressure isolation rooms to provide special care to children with contagious diseases. The advanced systems available in each room are used by skilled pediatricians supported by a team of nurses, one nurse to each patient ensuring that no child in intensive care is left alone. 

Each nurse is trained to identify signs of worsening health in young babies and is aware of how to calm the fears of children and parents in the unfamiliar environment of a hospital. 

The opening of the PICU follows the January 2015 doubling in the capacity of the University Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to a 24-bedded unit, which cares for babies under the age of 28 days. 

“The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit is an integral part of the University’s commitment to Women and Child Health. This focus on children’s health through the provision of intensive care for neonates, babies and adolescents is a key part of our services and education as well as research," commenting on the impact of the PICU, the AKU President, Firoz Rasul, remarked. 

The benefits of the PICU will extend beyond the boundaries of the AKUH and its patients. During treatment, AKUH’s specialists are constantly sharing their expertise in pediatric critical care with young doctors through the University’s fellowship programme. 

Upon the completion of their education and training, fellow will be able to apply their skills at any hospital, inside or outside Pakistan. 

At the ceremony, one of the PICU donors said: “There is nothing worse for a parent than seeing their child suffer from a life-threatening disease. The uncertainty and helplessness of such difficult times is eased when you know that there is a specially designed facility that can bring them back to health.” 

“We know that there is a shortage of high quality facilities to treat critically ill children. By helping the AKUH set up such a facility, we are confident that we can save the lives of many young kids,” he added.

Simple intervention can preserve kidney health

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Up to one in five adults in Pakistan has chronic kidney disease, which has become one of the rapidly escalating causes of death. Patients with advanced CKD require dialysis or transplantation, unaffordable for the vast majority of people.

A research paper published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology revealed that simple and inexpensive public health interventions could help prevent many cases of CKD. 

As part of a two-year study conducted at Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi, researchers Professor Tazeen Jafar, Health Services & Systems Research at Duke NUS Medical School in Singapore and Duke Global Health Institute in Durham, and Visiting Consultant Nephrologist, Singapore General Hospital, and Dr Imtiaz Jehan, Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at AKU observed more than 1,200 individuals with high blood pressure. 

The intervention included training community health workers on the many aspects of a healthy lifestyle such as improving diet, stopping smoking, increasing physical activity, and taking prescribed blood pressure-lowering medications besides training community general practitioners on the latest standards for managing hypertension. 

After seven years of follow up, five years after cessation of the intervention, the kidney function remained unchanged among adults in the communities assigned to the intervention, whereas it significantly declined among those who received usual care. 

Patients with the intervention were half as likely as other patients to experience over 20 per cent decline in kidney function. 

“Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information on public health interventions to preserve kidney health and prevent CKD, even though certain unhealthy lifestyle factors and conditions such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes are common, and are known to increase the risk of developing CKD,” Dr Jehan said. 

“This study shows that such a practical model based on training primary care physicians coupled with lifestyle advice from non-physician health workers is likely to have a long-term benefit on preserving kidney function at a population level,” Professor Jafar observed. 

“These simple strategies can be implementable in other low- and middle-income countries with similar risk factor burden and health systems infrastructure.” 

Other authors of the paper included Dr John Allen and Seyed Ehsan Saffari from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Dr Aamir Hameed from AKU, Professor Shah Ebrahim from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Professors Neil Poulter and Nish Chaturvedi from Imperial College London.

VC visits SSUET heatstroke centre

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Vice Chancellor of the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Prof Dr Jawed H Rizvi, visited the Heat Stroke Treatment Centre established by the university within its campus. 

The SSUET took a lead over other universities with the establishment of a Heat Stroke Treatment Centre which was inaugurated by the SSUET Chancellor, Jawaid Anwar, on May 19. 

With the temperature continuously soaring, alongwith humidity, the centre has been equipped with necessary facilities and is supervised by doctors and paramedical staff of the university's Medical Centre round the clock.

During the visit the SSUET Registrar, Syed Sarfraz Ali, and Dr Mohammad Taufiq briefed the Vice Chancellor about the salient features of the centre. 

Accompanied by university officials, the Vice Chancellor also inquired about the condition of a student, having been admitted in the centre. 

Chancellor Jawaid Anwar has already directed that besides any mishap within the campus, the facility should also be available to anyone outside the campus. 

The SSUET has taken the initiative of establishing the centre as a precautionary measure to the meet the oppressive summer months of Karachi.

Rs 10 million grant approved for Nawabshah Press Club

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

A two-member delegation of the Nawabshah Press Club (NPC) comprising its President, Mohammed Anwar Shaikh, and Member Finance and Correspondent APP Nawabshah, Rashid Zia Qureshi, called on Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah at the Chief Minister House in Karachi. 

On the occasion, the two veteran journalists apprised the Chief Minister about the activities of the Nawabshah Press Club and the problems being faced by it. 

The Chief Minister remarked that Nawabshah was a very important city of the province of Sindh, having a historical background. He recognized that the NPC was a notable institution playing a significant role in the field of journalism. 

He observed that Nawabshah was the ancestral city of Asif Ali Zardari and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, who also used to visit the district frequently and as such it was renamed after her name as Shaheed Benazirabad District. 

He listened to the issues relating to the Nawabshah Press Club and approved an immediate grant of Rs 10 million for the reconstruction of the club. 

The advisor to the Chief Minister, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, MPAs Zia-ul-Huq Lanjar and Agha Tanvir Iqbal, and Coordinator to Faryal Talpur were also present on the occasion.

SSUET sets up heatstroke treatment centre

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Karachi, has taken a lead over other educational institutions by having set up a heatstroke treatment centre within the campus premises on the directives of its Chancellor Jawaid Anwar.

It may be recalled that the city of Karachi had endured its most oppressive summer in decades last year which caused heavy casualties. As preemptive measures, some organizations have made arrangements and the SSUET has led by example by creating the much-needed facility at its campus. 

With the temperature continuously soaring and the humidity also on the rise, the centre has been equipped with necessary facilities and is being supervised by doctors and paramedical staff of the university's Medical Center round the clock. 

The center was visited by Chancellor Jawaid Anwar, who appreciated the efforts made in this regard and observed that it was reflective of the university's concern about the healthcare of its students and staff, both teaching and non-teaching and other employees. An ambulance is also on duty round the clock to carry any heat stroke affected person.

The chancellor directed that besides any mishap within the camps, the facility should also be available to anyone outside the campus. 

The Vice President of the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA), Anwar Ali, and the SSUET Registrar, Syed Sarfraz Ali, were also present on the occasion. 

The centre was also visited by Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Jawaid H. Rizvi later in the afternoon and he praised the university's medical team in setting up of the heatstroke treatment centre.

Role of midwives and nurses in health system recognized

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The speakers highlighted the threats posed by global health crises and the role of nurses and midwives in keeping Pakistan’s health system resilient in the face of new risks at a symposium to commemorate International Nurses and Midwives Day at the Aga Khan University, Karachi.

In a world that is vulnerable to disease outbreaks such as the current mosquito-borne Zika virus spreading across Latin America, swine flu and last year’s Ebola virus pandemic in West Africa, and where climate change is leaving populations exposed to soaring temperatures and natural disasters, care from well-prepared nurses and midwives can save lives. 

“As nurses, we need to be thinking ahead of our role during disease outbreaks or natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes,” Salma Jaffer, chief nursing officer at AKU, remarked. 

“We are at the front line of providing treatment to affected people, communicating reliable information and dispelling fears. It is essential that nurses are both aware of and ready to play their role in a health crisis,” she added. Nurses and midwives both have a critical role to play in health systems, in keeping mothers and children healthy. 

Ms Arusa Lakhani, director of midwifery at AKU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, pointed out that Pakistan has the third-highest number of maternal deaths in the world, with 1 in 400 mothers, 276 deaths per 100,000 live births, dying from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. 

Improving maternal health indicators is a public health priority and Ms Lakhani highlighted that UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population) was funding a higher education programme at the School to improve the skills of practicing midwives. The Post-RM BScM programme is using a mixture of face-to-face education and elearning to reach out to midwives in all the provinces. 

“Investing in midwifery pays in strengthening health system and in managing humanitarian crisis. We hope to do even more in the future to improve the transfer of knowledge and skills to health workers we are looking at designing mobile apps that will help us provide short education videos and even advice in Urdu and Sindhi,” she said.

Ms Lakhani hoped that AKU’s new undergraduate degree in midwifery and its higher education programme continued to equip midwives with the new skills, concepts and the confidence to offer all-round assistance and support to expectant mothers, especially in hard-to-reach areas. 

"A pregnant woman should be able to decide who will deliver her child. She should not hesitate in seeking a midwife who can assess her fitness to deliver a child outside a hospital. Whether a mother lives in a busy city or a far-flung rural area, she has a right to a safe birth,” she stated. 

Nurses too have to deal with challenging situations and modern-day problems every day that affect their ability to remain resilient. 

However, “nurses must always be prepared, mindful of a patient’s circumstances and strive to treat them with dignity,” Ms Yasmin Vellani, general surgery nursing specialist at the Aga Khan University Hospital, observed. 

“Keeping these principles in mind will enable nurses to continue to be a force for good,” she emphasized. 

Since 1981, AKU’s nursing school has trained over 3,762 nurses to advocate for patients’ rights and to assist patients suffering from everything from cancer to the common flu. To date, 24 midwives have graduated from the bachelor’s programme in midwifery. 

Prominent speakers on the day included chief guest Brig. Razia Ishfaq, director, Armed Forces Nursing Services, and keynote speaker Surriya Shahnaz, vice-president, Pakistan Nursing Council.

Pakistan needs more IPOs in all provinces

Prof Dr Nasim Fatima
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Almighty Allah Bestowed Umm-al-Kitab, the Holy Quran, on Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) to communicate the manual of human life for the well being of humanity. The Holy Quran is the first complete book written on Loh-e-Mahfooz to protect its original text for eternity. 

On earth, the books were written on walls, stones, clay tablets, palm leaves, papyrus, parchment and vellum in ancient times. Paper was invented as the most useful writing material and the subsequent printing by machines made it convenient to spread knowledge among larger pool of people. 

Oral, visual, pictorial and three dimensional tools were used later to convey the ideas more clearly and perfectly. At present digital and electronic media are more in vogue for the transmission of intellectual thoughts among the masses and particularly to those who seek information on a regular basis. 

The computer technology and internet access have opened the floodgates of knowledge to the inhabitants of the world, now considered global village. 

Manuscripts, books and journals on the conventional side and their electronic versions of late need security of contents and formats because they happen to be the intellectual properties of writers, journalists, authors, editors, bloggers, translators, poets, cartoonists, calligraphers, producers and composers in or outside of Pakistan. 

It was observed that the piracy of books, its contents and formats, occurred in quantity as well as quality which led to the enactment of the Copyright Act at national as well as international level. 

Pakistan, having emerged on the world map on August 14, 1947, had to follow the Indian Copyright Act initially but it was soon realized that there was a requirement for enacting laws which were specific to the nascent state. 

The first copyright law in Pakistan was framed and approved 15 years after the creation of the homeland and it was referred to as the Copyright Ordinance 1962 (XXIV of 1962). 

It was based on 14 chapters, preliminary, copyright, ownership of copyright and the rights of the owner, term of copyright, rights of the broadcasting organizations, rights in published editions of works, performing rights and societies, registrar of copyright, copyright officer and copyright boards, delivery of books and newspapers to public libraries, international copyright, infringement of copyright, civil remedies, prohibitions of importation and exportation, offences and penalties, appeals and miscellaneous. 

These were revised in 1967 and named as the Copyright Rules while the International Copyright Order was issued in 1968. Pakistan was included in the countries of the Berne Copyright Union in 2000 and became a party to the Universal Copyright Convention. 

At present in Pakistan, copyright is entitled as the International Property Rights and the Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) is headquartered at Islamabad, the federal capital. It looks after all the matters in this regard. 

There are registry offices, one each in of Karachi and Lahore, the provincial capitals of Sindh and Punjab respectively, where all sorts of intellectual properties could be registered. They have framed the rules for registration and the proformas are available at their offices for which a fee is charged. 

The IPO also has its own website which provides useful basic information to the intellectuals of Pakistan. 

Since the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also have a large number of intellectual in various fields, contributing regularly in English, Urdu and their regional languages, the IPO should make their life easier by setting up their registry offices also at Quetta and Peshawar. 

This would facilitate the local intellectuals and also encourage them to get themselves registered in their own province. 

There should be more registry offices in all the provinces for the convenience of intellectuals of all kinds and all languages spoken and written, besides English and Urdu. 

Moreover, seminars in all the major cities be conducted in order to familiarize writers, journalists, authors, editors, bloggers, translators, poets, cartoonists, calligraphers, producers and composers on the significance of the intellectual property rights and their utilities.