Anesthesia Health System Capacities in Public Hospitals of Punjab, Pakistan

• Main Authors: Sumbal Shahbaz (Author), Rubeena Zakar PhD (Author), Florian Fischer PhD (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: SAGE Publishing, 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 0046-9580; 1945-7243; 10.1177/00469580211059740
• Keywords: Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, Vol 58 (2021)

Purpose: This study intends to outline the capacity of anesthesia health system in public hospitals of Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: A cross-sectional survey among public hospitals of Punjab was carried out that provide emergency and elective surgical care. We measured capacity in terms of infrastructure; surgical, anesthetic, and obstetric (SAO) workforce; surgical interventions; information management; equipment; and medication which was accomplished between October 2020 and February 2021. Results: Out of 106 public hospitals in Punjab, almost 40% had only one anesthesia provider. Only 50% of the hospitals reported round the clock availability of anesthesia providers for surgical cases. While caesarean sections were carried out in more than 90% of health facilities, general surgery, pediatric surgery, and open fracture surgery were conducted only in 50% of the hospitals. Although local and general anesthetic agents were available in the majority of hospitals, essential medicines for safe anesthesia were not available in all hospitals. Conclusion: This first comprehensive assessment of anesthesia health system capacity exposed a crucial deficiency of critical supplies and workforce for providing safe anesthesia and, hence, safe surgery. The surveyed facilities had an uneven division of resources.