Covid-19: AKU, HSA join hands to improve treatment standards for patients

Islamabad: The Aga Khan University has partnered with the Ministry of Health to offer a range of trainings, tele-consultations, and assessment of ICU facilities across the country in support of treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. An agreement between AKU and the Health Services Academy (HSA) was made here Wednesday.

Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the initiative will see AKU offer training to doctors, nurses and paramedical staff across Pakistan on care for Covid-19 patients. The agreement will also see AKU support the federal government’s countrywide ‘We Care’ initiative to train 50,000 healthcare workers on the proper use of Personal Protective Equipment. AKU is the Sindh lead for the project and master trainers from AKU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery and Medical College will complete the training of 10,000 healthcare workers across the province over the next few weeks.

Under the initiative, AKU will also conduct an assessment of the capacity of Intensive Care Units across the country’s nine provincial and 150 national hospitals. The study will lead to the development of a checklist and recommendations on how to improve utilization of Pakistan’s critical care capacity.

Healthcare workers taking care of hospitalized, ill COVID-19 patients can also access support through teleconsultations. Given the complexity of care, AKU has developed a simple, cost-free platform that connects healthcare workers with experts within minutes.

Doctors who are treating hospitalized, ill COVID patients and need consultation with a COVID treatment expert or a critical care expert, can call the COVID Tele-ICU Hotline for Physicians at +92 21 3486 2100.

“Our priority is to bolster the healthcare system’s capacity to deal with hospitalised patients,” said Dr Zafar Mirza, the PM’s Special Assistant on Health. “This partnership will contribute to the national effort to improve recoveries and save lives.”

The Vice Chancellor of HSA Dr. Assad Hafeez said, “We are proud to partner with AKU for training of healthcare workers. We must do everything to protect our health workforce, without whom we cannot possibly tackle this pandemic.”

AKU’s Medical College Dean Dr. Adil Haider expressed willingness to support national efforts to manage the Covid-19 pandemic. “Through our teleconsultation service, knowledge and capacity building trainings, we will work together as one to save lives,” he stated.