COMSTECH inaugurated a two-day training course on health and hospital management on Tuesday at COMSTECH auditorium in Islamabad.
COMSTECH inaugurated a two-day training course on health and hospital management on Tuesday at COMSTECH auditorium in Islamabad.
The representative of the World Health Organization in Pakistan, Dr. Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala was the chief guest of the session. He said health system management is important, we need to have a disciplined health sector management, curriculum and trained personnel to manage health sector. He suggested that health sector managers should manage in effective and efficient way by looking at the resources available. He said the world is in transition: demographic, life style, and economic transition, which warrants us to manage health systems well in compliance with the changing world.
Dr. Mahipala appreciated the response and management of COVID by the government of Pakistan and said it was unified, outstanding and unique and many countries can learn from that. He informed that coordination and governance, science and epidemiology and communication are the three pillars to respond any emergency effectively.
Dr. Mahipala said going to hospital is riskier then climbing the mount Everest. He mentioned that people go to hospital to get treatment of one disease and unfortunately come back home with another infection. He stressed that patient safety and equity is most important and said when it comes to healthcare delivery we need to talk and care about it.
The keynote speaker of the session, Professor & Executive Director, Institute of Global Public Health, University of Manitoba, Canada, Dr. James Blanchard said that academic institutions are doing more in research and training but not necessarily thinking about the vital role of leadership in public health system. He said it is important to think about the importance and strengthening of health systems which is going to be the critical aspect of the success and challenges for sustainable development goals (SDGs). He said to achieve SDGs health goals, access, quality and utilization of key health services are essential. Dr. James said that to achieve greater equity, clinical services need to be accessible to socially and economically marginalized. He informed that the planning of health systems and distribution of resources is critical. He concluded by mentioning that effective coverage of hospital-based clinical services is a key element of reaching SDGs, and organization and strengthening of hospital sector requires both health system planning and clinical quality improvement.
Vice Chancellor, Health Services Academy, Prof. Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan said in his remarks that Polio, Dangue and COVID have shifted our focus towards public health which was not a priority for long time. These diseases created the demand of public health care, which government responded. It resulted in improvement in public health system in Pakistan, however, it still needs lot more to be done in this sector. He said that the area of management is missing, and public health sector managers need a diversified skill set.
Coordinator General COMSTECH, Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary welcomed the participants. He said that this training course is extremely important to improve healthcare delivery in OIC member states. Prof. Choudhary said that OIC nations suffers with weak and fragile healthcare systems. He said the health care system in these countries suffers from improper management, inadequate funding, lack of policy, infrastructure and compromised quality, which needs an immense improvement. He suggested that health and nutrition have to be top priority on national development agenda, otherwise we would not be able to face the next pandemic and other health emergencies of future, he informed.