Unable to save lives

World Health Day this year focused on saving lives by making hospitals safe during emergencies. The theme is important at a time when natural disasters triggered by man-made environmental changes are on the rise. Equally devastating are the wars and violence which many Third World countries are experiencing.

These are taking a heavy toll on life especially where the health system is not in a state of preparedness and is unable to cope with emergencies. Pakistan has taken note of the concerns of the World Health Organisation, as it should, given the rise in mortality figures due to natural disasters and violence. Even in normal conditions our hospitals have proved woefully inadequate when it comes to coping with the number of people requiring medical care.

These institutions are ill-equipped and under-staffed and suffer from an acute shortage of medicines and other support facilities. When it comes to emergencies — and unfortunately there has been no dearth of these in recent times with almost 1,700 people killed by bomb blasts since 2005 and many more injured and maimed — the system is on the verge of collapse. Resultantly, in many cases lives that could be saved through prompt treatment are lost.

WHO has recommended some core actions to improve facilities to save lives in emergency situations. It has called on health authorities to assess the safety of hospitals, provide for the training of health workers and draw up plans for emergency responses. These are very valid suggestions that must be reviewed in earnest. But is it possible to build perfect facilities catering for emergencies when the health delivery system cannot even provide a modicum of care to a person who contracts illnesses that are caused by our unhealthy environment?

The need is to upgrade our health facilities in the public sector to meet the needs of the people. Simultaneously, provisions could also be made for emergency situations by setting up a trauma centre in every big tertiary-care hospital. The government is planning to build a network that will link primary healthcare facilities in rural areas to the tehsil hospitals that should be connected to tertiary-care institutions in the cities. Since the health policy has still not been announced it is difficult to say how this system will operate. There has also been talk of increasing the health budget. But pumping in more money without a feasible plan will not bring about the desired changes.