Lahore: A post-graduate trainee at Mayo Hospital and office member of the Young Doctors’ Association, Dr Salman Kazmi, has written a letter to the Punjab Healthcare Commission in the absence of the current YDA secretary-general to reduce the working hours of house officers and post-graduate students. It states that many doctors he had seen had been sleep-deprived assisting lead surgeons at the emergency operation theater.
Dr Faisal Akram* said he had fallen asleep during a surgery. The assistant professor in-charge had then issued him a warning. Akram said “I had serving in surgical emergency for 48 hours without a break. I lost count of patients I had operated on”. Faisal is studying for a fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (FCPS).
The letter suggests that the emergency medical officers in the filter clinic of the emergency ward be replaced by the ward’s post graduate trainees and medical officers. The system is currently in place at the paediatrics ward of Mayo Hospital. |
