Staff Reporter
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza on Friday officially launched ‘We Care’ – a nationwide training program for doctors, nurses, paramedics and support staff on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
Addressing the ceremony, Dr Mirza said a special online training course for health care workers is designed to explain the standard usage of PPE while keeping in mind the limitations of working during Covid-19 pandemic.
This course aims to engage more than a 100,000 doctors, nurses, paramedics and support staff from all over the country, he added.
The training course is designed to make participants aware of the role of PPE in protecting oneself in a contagious environment and their personal responsibility to wear the proper PPE according to the risk in the environment they are working in.
Dr Zafar said the standardized national curriculum for this training has been developed and top medical universities all across the country, one in each province, is selected to deliver the training to their respective areas.
He said steady and adequate direct supplies of the PPEs is part of the campaign which is being handled by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
He said ‘We Care’ campaign was presented to all the provincial health ministers and agreed with them. The campaign will complement the ongoing efforts by the provinces and development partners for the same purpose, Dr. Mirza added.
Participants were briefed that the Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination has launched “We CARE”, a national campaign for protecting and supporting our frontline health workers in the context of Covid-19.
They were informed that ‘We care’ aims at providing adequate personal protective equipment to the health workers, orienting them on using various PPE items as per international standards, and creating an overall psycho-social environment of care and support.
The participants were apprised that the ministry is being assisted by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as partners in this campaign, he added.
They were informed that ‘We care’ also aimed to sensitize public, including patients and visitors at healthcare facilities, to support frontline healthcare workers by following preventive behaviors not only to reduce the risk of infection to themselves but also to reduce work burden on health providers. World Health Organization Representative to Pakistan, Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala and experts from the fraternity were also present on the occasion. A special documentary on proper usage of PPE was also played during the inaugural session.
