A survey of nearly 80 intensive care units (ICUs) across Pakistan conducted by AKU found that despite their success in obtaining beds and ventilators during the pandemic, many ICUs continue to lack crucial infrastructure and personnel. That could spell trouble if the country experiences another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, or an outbreak of another disease that strains ICU capacity.
“High-tech equipment is only a part of what makes a successful ICU,” said AKU Associate Professor Asad Latif, who led the survey. “You also need trained staff, the right spaces to treat patients and systems to maintain quality.”
The survey reported shortages of negative pressure isolation rooms, oxygen supplies, nurses and qualified critical care physicians. Many ICUs also lacked policies and protocols for patient care.
Dr Latif and his team consulted frameworks for health-systems strengthening before designing a comprehensive survey to assess the quality and scope of facilities, staff, equipment and systems at ICUs across Pakistan.
“This survey points out the most critical gaps in our intensive care delivery,” Dr Latif said. “While investing more money in the healthcare system is important, we also need to invest in building the capacity of staff and strengthening processes in order to raise the quality of care in our ICUs.”
The assessment is part of the University’s broader Tele-ICU initiative. Under agreements with the Government of Sindh and the federal Ministry of Health, and with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Dawood Foundation, AKU is working towards building the capacity of healthcare workers across the country to care for COVID-19 patients.
Over 12,000 people have attended the University’s online workshops on the use of personal protective equipment, and AKU’s courses related to the care of COVID-19 patients have attracted more than 10,000 participants.
AKU has also established a hotline to provide teleconsultations to physicians treating COVID-19 patients, particularly focusing on government hospitals. To date, more than 500 frontline healthcare workers have called the hotline and consulted with AKU specialists.
At the signing of the agreement between AKU and the federal Ministry of Health, Dr Zafar Mirza, then the Prime Minister’s special assistant on health, said the partnership “will contribute to the national effort to improve recoveries and save lives.”