AKU Organises First International Symposium on Critical Care Management

Professor M. Sultan Farooqui, President, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan (CPSP) and a former AKU Trustee, was the Chief Guest at the inaugural session of AKU’s First International Critical Care Symposium.

The three-day symposium titled ‘Critical Care Issues and Management: A Requisite for the New Millennium in the Developing World’ was designed for anaesthetists, intensivists, physicians, surgeons, critical care nurses and other health care professionals involved in the care of seriously ill patients in the wards/high dependency units and intensive care units. The symposium highlighted critical care health challenges in Pakistan and the developing world, and provided opportunities for specialists in critical care to present their work, critique current ideas and develop collaborative ventures which could help in the formulation of critical care policies and protocols.

Renowned physicians and nurses from Pakistan, UK, Europe, USA, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India attended the symposium and addressed a variety of critical care topics including clinical care, nutrition, ethical issues, quality of care, manpower and infection control.

Drawing attention to this comparatively new field in Pakistan, Dr Qamarul Hoda, Associate Professor and Clinical Director ICU, AKU, and chairman of the organising committee for the symposium remarked, “Well-equipped ICUs, critical care specialists and quality training centers are much needed in our country. This symposium will bring to limelight a relatively neglected but very important area of the medical field.”

On the same occasion, AKU’s Department of Anaesthesia also launched the first edition of ‘Anaesthesia Lecture Notes’ which includes a number of topics on the subject of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. This compendium aims to be a useful resource to the readers, particularly the trainees in the specialty.

The symposium was accompanied by hands-on workshops for physicians and nurses on different ICU related procedures. A two-day medical products and equipment exhibition was also organised along with the symposium.