KARACHI - The children of Tharparkar can now access free of cost quality emergency care and consultation 24x7. It will save them from dying of treatable illnesses. The Sindh government’s partnership with ChildLife Foundation has made this feat possible.
According to a statement released by the Foundation, the Sindh government has helped ChildLife equip four secondary care hospitals in Mithi, Diplo, Chachro and Islamkot with HD cameras and IP phones that connect them to qualified and experienced doctors in the Telemedicine Control Room in Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, Karachi. A fifth site in Nagarparkar will also become functional in a few weeks.
Under the telemedicine model, the cameras help doctors to remotely assess sick children brought to the DHQs, THQs and RHCs of Thar and provide timely phone consultation to them. After stabilization, those who require further treatment are referred to the closest children’s Emergency Room for further life-saving intervention. It is pertinent to mention that the government of Sindh took a pioneering stance in 2011 by partnering with ChildLife Foundation to improve children’s emergency care units in government hospitals of the province.
The success of this model has been replicated by in Balochistan and recently, in Lahore and Islamabad as well. Today, ChildLife operates a total of 11 children’s Emergency Rooms at government tertiary care hospitals; 9 of those are in Sindh, while 1 is in Balochistan and Punjab each. Through its 11 ERs and 55 telemedicine satellite centers across the country, ChildLife has saved 4 million children’s lives so far.