Enhancing skills of doctors

For the first time in the country’s public health sector, an important initiative will soon be undertaken at the Post Graduate Medical Institute in Peshawar, where new doctors will be able to practise medical procedures on manikins rather than on actual human patients. While the use of highly advanced medical technology involving cadavers and manikins is widely prevalent in developed countries, it is something of a novelty in Pakistani government hospitals. This initiative is hence a welcome development showing that government hospitals are now looking to improve the quality of training imparted to fresh medical graduates. This is important for a country that sees countless medical negligence cases in which families of patients and patients themselves are unable to bring lawsuits against healthcare staff due to the poor state of malpractice legislation. This renders patients helpless in a system where doctors are rarely held accountable for their mistakes.

Even at prestigious private sector hospitals, malpractice is not too uncommon where doctors at times do not follow the most basic of health practices. It is often those from lower socioeconomic classes that face the negative consequences of medical malpractice as government hospitals mostly serve lower income groups and often provide compromised care due to heavy patient load. A skill lab at a public hospital, therefore, is quite an accomplishment as it will fulfil a very relevant need of enhancing the skills of doctors in the country, especially those who are responsible for hundreds of patients every week at busy government hospitals. There are several areas in which Pakistan lacks in 21^st century medical practice, whether it is access to advanced technology, research or medical training. The skill lab could provide invaluable training and experience to doctors in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of the country. In addition, the establishment of the lab at a public-sector institution may help win some trust of the public when it comes to the provision of quality healthcare.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2016.

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