Blood and nerves: It takes a lot of guts for these young doctors to work in Karachi's A&E wards
At Civil hospital, older staffers worry that the less experienced doctors are overwhelmed.
KARACHI:
The bloodbath continues. The mounting bodies and escalating number of injured people in emergency wards have forced doctors to think along drastic lines. Among them is Civil Hospital, Karachi (CHK) whose senior staff does not want to post young doctors in the accident and emergency (A&E) ward, fearing they may not be able to handle the pressure. This applies even more so for those in the medico legal office.
"Even after 25 years of experience sometimes doctors get confused when faced with so much pressure," argues senior MLO Dr Aftab Channar. "I strongly believe young doctors with no experience should not be posted to the emergency. It is different in the ward, the professor is there to supervise and the patient usually faces no immediate threat. However, in the emergency you need to make some very quick decisions and inexperience may cost the patient their life."
Another highly experienced officer, CHK MLO Mubarak Ali agrees. "Almost all medico legal officers are senior professionals at Civil," he says. "It is because of years of experience that we don't feel the anxiety or pressure as much when violence breaks out in the city and the body count mounts. Whether we feel easy or uneasy the workload usually doesn't give us any choice but to continue."
From morning till about 6pm on Friday five bodies were registered in CHK, one person died during treatment. Three people were from Saeedabad while two were from areas near Bheempura police station. The bodies were riddled with gunshots while some also suffered blast injuries.
Meanwhile, at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) young doctors posted in the A&E have been given strict instructions not to speak to the media. On condition of anonymity, a doctor agreed to share their experience. "There is a great deal anxiety especially among the house officers and other young doctors. So many bodies and severely injured people have been brought in and we have no idea as to how many more will come."
The anxiety lasts till the duty hours end at which point it is replaced with the stress of finding a way home. With no safe mode of transport most doctors just end up staying at the hospital. "We [young doctors] are not provided with transport or ambulance to come to work. We have to find our way, sometimes at a great risk to our lives. But doctors have no excuse, especially at times like this," the doctor said in a tired yet matter-of-fact tone.
In the other side of town, Qatar Hospital in Orangi Town is also facing a grave number of challenges. "We received eight people today, including one body and two people who were severely injured," says deputy medical superintendent Dr Nasim Akhtar. Qatar's biggest issue however remains accessibility for doctors to reach their place of work, leaving the few in attendance with a heavy workload. Faced with a low turnout of doctors due to the violence in the city Qatar usually has no choice and needs all the hands on deck, young and experienced.
Akhtar adds that as he was leaving in the early evening after a long shift, police vans were escorting another three or four families with injured people who were complaining of indiscriminate firing in areas near the hospital. "It is almost like the gunmen have telescopes on rooftops," Akhtar said. "They shoot at people the instant they leave the house."
Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) which was flooded with the passengers of a bus sprayed with gunshots on Thursday were busy attending patients on Friday as well. Two bodies with gunshot wounds were registered while the number of injured was unknown as the people kept pouring in. "It has been a very busy day and we can't discuss these matters right now," said Dr Imran, chief medical officer at ASH, when asked about his experiences with young doctors in the emergency.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2011.
The bloodbath continues. The mounting bodies and escalating number of injured people in emergency wards have forced doctors to think along drastic lines. Among them is Civil Hospital, Karachi (CHK) whose senior staff does not want to post young doctors in the accident and emergency (A&E) ward, fearing they may not be able to handle the pressure. This applies even more so for those in the medico legal office.
"Even after 25 years of experience sometimes doctors get confused when faced with so much pressure," argues senior MLO Dr Aftab Channar. "I strongly believe young doctors with no experience should not be posted to the emergency. It is different in the ward, the professor is there to supervise and the patient usually faces no immediate threat. However, in the emergency you need to make some very quick decisions and inexperience may cost the patient their life."
Another highly experienced officer, CHK MLO Mubarak Ali agrees. "Almost all medico legal officers are senior professionals at Civil," he says. "It is because of years of experience that we don't feel the anxiety or pressure as much when violence breaks out in the city and the body count mounts. Whether we feel easy or uneasy the workload usually doesn't give us any choice but to continue."
From morning till about 6pm on Friday five bodies were registered in CHK, one person died during treatment. Three people were from Saeedabad while two were from areas near Bheempura police station. The bodies were riddled with gunshots while some also suffered blast injuries.
Meanwhile, at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) young doctors posted in the A&E have been given strict instructions not to speak to the media. On condition of anonymity, a doctor agreed to share their experience. "There is a great deal anxiety especially among the house officers and other young doctors. So many bodies and severely injured people have been brought in and we have no idea as to how many more will come."
The anxiety lasts till the duty hours end at which point it is replaced with the stress of finding a way home. With no safe mode of transport most doctors just end up staying at the hospital. "We [young doctors] are not provided with transport or ambulance to come to work. We have to find our way, sometimes at a great risk to our lives. But doctors have no excuse, especially at times like this," the doctor said in a tired yet matter-of-fact tone.
In the other side of town, Qatar Hospital in Orangi Town is also facing a grave number of challenges. "We received eight people today, including one body and two people who were severely injured," says deputy medical superintendent Dr Nasim Akhtar. Qatar's biggest issue however remains accessibility for doctors to reach their place of work, leaving the few in attendance with a heavy workload. Faced with a low turnout of doctors due to the violence in the city Qatar usually has no choice and needs all the hands on deck, young and experienced.
Akhtar adds that as he was leaving in the early evening after a long shift, police vans were escorting another three or four families with injured people who were complaining of indiscriminate firing in areas near the hospital. "It is almost like the gunmen have telescopes on rooftops," Akhtar said. "They shoot at people the instant they leave the house."
Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) which was flooded with the passengers of a bus sprayed with gunshots on Thursday were busy attending patients on Friday as well. Two bodies with gunshot wounds were registered while the number of injured was unknown as the people kept pouring in. "It has been a very busy day and we can't discuss these matters right now," said Dr Imran, chief medical officer at ASH, when asked about his experiences with young doctors in the emergency.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2011.