Political Source: The Latest Criteria for ICU Admission [My Letter in The Frontier Post]

Admission to ICU!
Posted on February 18, 2012

A young lady, aged between 25-30, came to the civil hospital with severe abdominal pain, she was referred from casualty department to surgical emergency ward, where she was diagnosed as a case of “Tuberculous Intestinal Perforation” after all the necessary laboratory & radiological investigations and clinical examination.The possible and necessary treatment for her was Surgical Repair of the perforation, all her attendants and relatives present in the ward were informed about it. She came with a huge protocol, full of political source, all her relatives belonged to a political party.They told the doctors that give her the VIP protocol, in other words they meant that give her the VIP protocol otherwise it won’t be good for you and hospital. After surgery, her relatives didn’t allow doctors to keep the patient in the ward, as they were not satisfied with the cleanliness of the ward. They forced the doctors and administration to vacate a bed in ICU and shift their patient to ICU. This patient was stable after surgery, and she really didn’t need ICU management, patients like her are easily managed in the ward without ICU support and monitoring.Now the important thing is this that the ICU in civil hospital comprises only 8 beds, and the count of ICU needy patients is more than that. So if people will force administration on political source to shift their patients to ICU although they don’t need ICU support, will let the other ICU needy patient, who is poor and has no political source, to suffer and may die.

Dr. Mubashir H. Shaikh
Hyderabad

[Published in The Frontier Post on Sunday, 18th Feb 2012]

Learn CPR: Become a Life Saver (My Letter in The Frontier Post)

‘Become a life saver’
Posted on February 15, 2012

Last month I had a chance to attend a 4-hour Basic Life Support (BLS) workshop in Dow University, Karachi, in which techniques and procedures of Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) were taught to us. CPR is a combination of artificial breathing given mouth to mouth and an artificial heart beat produced by chest compressions, given to victims of sudden cardiac arrest (who stops breathing) in order to save the life until advanced life support can be given by health care providers. In our part of the world, this workshop is mandatory for healthcare proffesionals only, but if you look around in developed countries, you will see that this life saving procedure is commonly taught in schools, colleges, universities and other institutes, not only this but their adults learn this technique on their own will. In USA, there are many government and independent institutes who teach CPR, and many people attend this because they know the importance of this life saving procedure. The point I want to raise here is that the health ministry of Pakistan should initiate a national CPR teaching programme, not only for health care providers but for all adults. As we all know that in Pakistan, programmes like Polio, TB, Malaria, and Hepatitis prevention and control programmes have done quite well. They have not achieved 100% success, but still have managed things very well. Many of our people are taking benefits through these programmes specially in rural areas. It also reminds me of PPHI (people’s primary healthcare initiative), through which medical facilities have reached in remote areas, and have re-opened the closed BHUs (basic health units) to help the poor patients free of cost. If our officials start such project country wide to teach Basic Life Support Techniques, it will surely decrease the number of deaths, and will save the lives. Ambulance may get late, so every citizen should be armed with the CPR technique, it will not only benefit others but you also.

Dr. Mubashir H. Shaikh
Hyderabad

(Published in The Frontier Post - 15th Feb 2012)

Patients Nibbled by Rodents (My Letter in The Frontier Post))

Patients nibbled by rodents
Posted on February 13, 2012

Recently I read a news report in an Indian newspaper, that a comatose patient, being kept on ventilator in an ICU of Mathura Das Mathur Hospital Jodhpur, was nibbled by rodents on ear, lips, cheeks and nose, while the nursing staff slept. In reaction, the responsible staff was suspended.
This story reminds me of some scenes that I have seen in Civil Hospital, Hyderabad, a hundred times. One being healthy cannot take care of him/her self here, I have seen staff nurse being bitten by a cat twice, one doctor friend, while examining a patient was bitten by a cat on foot. Cats are not only inside hospital but in the wards too. Poor people, accompanying patients, usually sleep on floors along with their food and other stuff, beacuse of lack of place.
Cats touch their stuff, half eat their food and lot more. In or near surgical OTs, these cats have been noticed eating the human flesh, which is taken off from body during some opertation, like placentas, appendix, etc. Patients visit hospitals for cure or care, but here unfortunately the caretakers are not even safe. At night, when the hospital is quiet and the inside roads are empty, one is scared to walk there because of stray dogs.
Before we experience a bad scene due to presence of these animals in the hospitals, the authorities should take them out of hospitals, and they should seal all such entrances of the wards and rooms where from cats and rodents can enter. This was one of the several basic problems of government hospitals. By focusing and taking care of these basic things, one can make these public sector hospitals, better place for the sick ones.

Dr. Mubashir H. Shaikh

Hyderabad, Sindh

20 rupees per head to see the 40 ft Whale Shark in Karachi

Tuesday (7-2-2012): 40 ft brown and black spotted Whale Shark, found dead in Arabian Sea, bought to the Fish harbour (karachi) ..... 20 rupees per head were charged to see this giant animal, thousands of people crowded around, to touch, see and snap a picture with this rare animal.

Historical Event: Pakistan Whitewash England in Test Series

First time in the history of world test cricket, Pakistan has whitewash the giant England team in three test series .... Historical test series, historical event, Pakistan Zindabad. Congratulations to the fans of Pakistan Cricket ....

Recaps:

• First Test .. 17 to 21 january ... Pakistan beat England by 10 wickets


• Second Test .. 25 to 29 january .. Pakistan beat England by 72 runs


• Third Test .. 3 to 7 january .. Pakistan beat England by 71 runs

SPSC Commission Exam .... Experience Sharing

SPSC Exam for the Post of Medical Officer BPS-17, in the Home (Prisons) Department ...... My Experience .. ;)

Sindh Public Service Commission announced the vacant posts of Medical Officer BPS 17 in the Home Department (Prison Department) in last months of 2011 ..... those who applied, got the admission letter (in january) to sit in the written exam, which was conducted on 1st of Feb 2012, in various centers of Hyderabad and Karachi .... I also took the exam, my center was Noor Mohd High School, hyderabad ... test started at 10.15 am ...... in admission letter it was written that there will be some 100 questions from the basic+clinical sciences .... but only 50 questions came in the exam .... the distribution of questions, as i counted was: 4 questions from gyne and obs, 8 from eye, 4 from neuro, 2 from toxicology, 2 from community med, 8 from endocrinology, 2 from anatomy, 1 from patho, and amony rest, few were from git, cardio and liver. Questions were nor tough neither very easy .... like in few questions they asked about the causes of conditions like clubbing, PPH, and hyperthyroidism ..... there was one question on clinical features of acute pancreatitis .. I memorized all the questions (not stems/options), and have made a pdf document for that paper, will soon upload it here on my blog, for all those who want to practice them for future exams .... it was a nice experience, could have done better in the absesnce of eye and gyne questions ;) ....