Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

The Department of Paediatrics has reconfigured itself as the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health in 2007. Existing Clinical services have been consolidated and expanded and new sub-specialty services are being constantly added with the eventual aim of developing into a full-fledged Institute of Child Health and Development by 2015.

Services

The Department provides care to children having any type of paediatric problems. It has 45 general ward beds, eight isolation beds, twelve semi-private beds, five beds for neonatal step down unit and five semi-intensive care beds with full monitoring with the exclusion of ventilation.

The paediatric ward consists of units for general paediatrics, as well as sub-specialty services. These include special care unit, nutrition rehabilitation, infectious diseases, neurology, cardiology (both medicine and surgery), haematology, oncology, nephrology and gastroenterology/haepatology. In addition, there are comprehensive newborn care services including intensive, intermediate and transitional care. Above all, there is an ambulatory care area that includes Consulting Clinics (both on- and off-campus sites) and Paediatric ER Services that work in collaboration with the Section of Emergency Services. Paediatric ER Services is unique in the sense that it has residency-trained faculty and supervising physicians.

The Department is actively involved in outreach activities for the last twelve years. AKU has implemented several innovative programmes of preventive care and community participation in seven inner-city slums of Karachi and several rural areas of Pakistan. These efforts have helped reduce the infant mortality rate over a 12-year period. These programmes now serve as models throughout Pakistan and other developing countries. The Department has played a lead role in developing national child survival and nutrition strategies.

Sub-Specialty Care

Available sub-specialties include the following: Neonatology, Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, Paediatric Haematology/Oncology, Paediatric Neurology, Paediatric Nephrology, Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Paediatric Gastroenterology, Haepatology and Nutrition, Paediatric Intensive Care in conjunction with Adult Intensive Care, Paediatric Emergency in collaboration with Section of Emergency Medicine, Paediatric Radiology in collaboration with Department of Radiology, Paediatric Surgery and other allied surgical sub-specialties like Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery.

Research Activities/Programmes

Over the last decade, the Department has steadily developed a comprehensive research programme in child health. Research projects are conducted in collaboration with other departments of AKU and reputed international organisations and institutions like WHO; UNICEF; International Vaccine Institute; Karolinska Institute, Sweden and Johns Hopkins University, USA. The Department is internationally recognised for its work on community-based peri-natal and newborn care, early childhood infections, nutrition related interventions and national/international child health and survival programmes.

Research interests include peri-natal health and newborn care and survival, common childhood infections (epidemiology, burden, interventions), maternal and childhood malnutrition and micronutrient nutrition and systematic reviews related to child health in developing countries.

Strategic research-based linkages have been developed with the following international organisations: WHO (membership of ACHR, CAH TSC, Nutrition, Vaccines and Biologicals); UNICEF; Ministry of Health, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan; EPI Programme/National Vaccine Development Taskforce; International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea; Wellcome Trust (TMIG Group); Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Cochrane Collaboration and Aga Khan Health Services (Northern Areas).

Educational Programmes/Undergraduate and Postgraduate Training

As a part of the University’s teaching programme, students are trained in common paediatric problems. The students complete three-month rotation training through wards, neonatal and well baby unit, outpatient and emergency room. In addition, they receive exposure to lectures and tutorials on common paediatric problems and daily ward rounds. At the end of three months they have an end-of-term examination.

The Department is recognised by the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) for training in Paediatrics. During the four years of training the residents rotate through different sub-specialities and ambulatory services and write a dissertation, as part of the FCPS requirement by CPSP. Residents are also assessed and evaluated every year by the residency programme committee of the Department.

The Department has started offering fellowships in Neonatology approved by CPSP. In addition to this, there are fellowship programmes in Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Paediatric Infectious Disease and Paediatric Cardiology.

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University

Mailing Address: 

Department of Paediatrics
Aga Khan University Hospital
Stadium Road, P.O. Box 3500, Karachi 74800, Pakistan
Telephone:+ 92 21 486 4722 or 493 0051 Ext. 4722
Fax: +92 21 493 4294, 493 2095