29 May 2017

Promotion of quality and critical care medicine requires the concerted efforts of all stakeholders in order to materialise, says Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele.

Speaking at the University of Botswana Medical Hospital where medical scientists had gathered to share information on efforts to improve the care of patients with life threatening illnesses and injuries recently, Mr Makgalemele said the ministry was appreciative of the importance of intensive and critical care medicine and the right of every citizen, its residents and visitors to receive world class medical treatment.

He also hailed the event, which attracted international medical scientists, as an important milestone that would complement Botswana’s health care delivery programmes.

For his part, the president of Botswana Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine (BSICCM), Dr Krikor Felemenkdjian said their vision was to improve the care of patients with life threatening illnesses and injuries, and to strive for the survival of every critically ill and injured patient.

He added that it was imperative for them to advance medical practitioners knowledge, enhance their skills and share best practices.

This, he said, would be carried out by an integrated team of trained critical care specialists and health professionals.

Dr Felemenkdjian said BSICCM was a newly established organisation that was formed a year ago, and that the event was the first of its kind.

He added that he hoped it would lay the foundation for quality, intensive and critical health care in Botswana.

“Every journey starts with the first step and we hope that the first annual congress of BSICCM is the first step of a continuous strive towards excellence and intensive care medicine. This congress is a good opportunity for us to learn together, foster cooperation, exchange ideas, build capacity and to get ready for any upcoming challenges,” he said.

Deliberating on complex medical conditions, a management strategies in severe acute asthma, Professor Guy Richards of the University of the Witwatersrand said it was a complex process of inflammation that occured over time, and that every patient should be treated accordingly.

He said doctors should do the necessary ground work such as examining life threatening features before prescribing medication lest they worsened the condition.

He cautioned medical doctors on the prescription of nebulizers for patients to take home. He added that nebulisers should not be used by asthma patients without monitoring by doctors.

“Nebulisers are all over and patients can buy even without doctor’s prescription, we do not encourage this as it may endanger a patient’s health,” he said.

He said it was critical for nurses to be trained on non-invasive ventilation, adding that it was critical for breathing to enable them to administer it to patients effectively.

The three-day workshop was organised by the University of Botswana Medical School under the Department of Emergency Medicine in conjunction with BSICCM.

Fifteen international and local medical doctors, medical professors and health professionals shared their expertise on various intensive and critical care medicine topics.

They included approach to sepsis in HIV patients, management of fungal infections in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), ventilation management, glycaemic control in ICU, ventilation of the asthmatic and the management of patients with refractory hypoxemia amongst other topics.

In an interview, Dr Lakshmi Rajeswaran of the University of Rwanda, Rory Meyers College of Nursing said the event enabled medical professionals to interact and share ideas that would improve intensive and critical care of patients.

She added that she was more enlightened and would use the knowledge gathered for saving human lives. ENDS