Pakistan needs 500 critical care doctors for ICUs and HDUs.

KARACHI -- President, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Dr Mirza Ali Azhar has revealed that less than 100 critical care doctors or intensivists are available in Pakistan and the country needs 500 more intensivists to treat coronavirus patients.

Talking to PPI, Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, said no any government had paid attention in past to producing critical care experts to meet the requirements of the country; therefore, the federal and provincial governments had been facing acute shortage of intensivists after the declaration of the coronavirus emergency. He informed: "About 50 to 70 critical care doctors are available in the country out of which majority of them is practicing in private hospitals."

He explained that an intensivist is a physician who specializes in the care of critically ill patients, mostly in the intensive care unit (ICU). He further explained that intensivist must be competent not only in a broad spectrum of conditions, common among critically ill patients but also with the technical procedures and devices (i.e. mechanical ventilators) used in the intensive care setting.

He said intensivists are often the leaders of multi-disciplinary teams of care providers to help coordinate, collaborate and facilitate providing evidenced-based outcomes. The team members consist of physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists...

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