Despite seventy years and numerous health setups in Pakistan , there are no specified facilities for the elderly in any significant number . There are no properly supervised nursing homes for the elderly , there are no Day hospitals , there is no intermediate care , there are no long stay wards for elderly in hospitals . There are no Geriatric medicine department at all . Similarly our country's nurses cannot even use techniques to lift an elderly person and mostly next of kin attendants perform the task. Moreover same high dosage drugs are administered to elderly as young , even though elderly dose for several medications have to be lower .
Elderly aids and appliances are for some years available in the market but designs of some of the walkers , commodes are not user friendly . For leaky elderly or stroke ridden ones the nappies are not available which can absorb as such are not imported , what ever is available is expensive , there are no incontinence laundries service . Nutritional supplements and vitamins in the market have never been tested as to contain the required medicinal compounds and that a specified elderly can absorb those formulations or even if they are safe .
To add to confusion Hikmat and homeopathy is used for elderly , which systems have no instrumental diagnostic incorporated and which have little in terms of surgery these days . Chinese and western herbals add to the confusion. Elderly cannot travel yet in hospitals there are no corners where elderly can have their investigations in peace .
Though there are hundreds of pakistani doctors with best geriatric qualifications in the western world working there there are hardly a dozen with registered qualification in Pakistani registration authorities and even those have taken other fields as there are no jobs . A university recently advertised a job in geriatrics but there were expectedly no applications. Geriatrics is the largest field in the Uk in terms of consultants for example . There are social workers , friends and doctors who wish to setup geriatric nursing homes , day hospitals and departments for elderly in Pakistan but health ministers ,
metropolitan corporation heads and parliament is not interested . What happens is that sons and daughters of elderly sick at first take interest in care of their old folks but after a few extremely uncomfortable testing or admission experiences they give way as daily admission rate in good hospitals cost from 20000-100000 per day and not much relief accrues in such a short time .
Pakistanis despite being a brainy and clever nation has so big an enertia in doing nothing that they cannot start new health facilities in new fields and Quacks abound . Even in politics field , i receive a universal advise that Pakistanis should play no part in influence enhancement in middle east and local region .When will we be able to act as leaders within and without Pakistan.
Elderly aids and appliances are for some years available in the market but designs of some of the walkers , commodes are not user friendly . For leaky elderly or stroke ridden ones the nappies are not available which can absorb as such are not imported , what ever is available is expensive , there are no incontinence laundries service . Nutritional supplements and vitamins in the market have never been tested as to contain the required medicinal compounds and that a specified elderly can absorb those formulations or even if they are safe .
To add to confusion Hikmat and homeopathy is used for elderly , which systems have no instrumental diagnostic incorporated and which have little in terms of surgery these days . Chinese and western herbals add to the confusion. Elderly cannot travel yet in hospitals there are no corners where elderly can have their investigations in peace .
Though there are hundreds of pakistani doctors with best geriatric qualifications in the western world working there there are hardly a dozen with registered qualification in Pakistani registration authorities and even those have taken other fields as there are no jobs . A university recently advertised a job in geriatrics but there were expectedly no applications. Geriatrics is the largest field in the Uk in terms of consultants for example . There are social workers , friends and doctors who wish to setup geriatric nursing homes , day hospitals and departments for elderly in Pakistan but health ministers ,
metropolitan corporation heads and parliament is not interested . What happens is that sons and daughters of elderly sick at first take interest in care of their old folks but after a few extremely uncomfortable testing or admission experiences they give way as daily admission rate in good hospitals cost from 20000-100000 per day and not much relief accrues in such a short time .
Pakistanis despite being a brainy and clever nation has so big an enertia in doing nothing that they cannot start new health facilities in new fields and Quacks abound . Even in politics field , i receive a universal advise that Pakistanis should play no part in influence enhancement in middle east and local region .When will we be able to act as leaders within and without Pakistan.
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