The pandemic has made waves all around the world. It has affected numerous sectors of life and health is no exception. Healthcare has also seen variation during the time of this earth-shattering global pandemic. With all the negative things that are the courtesy of this pandemic, there are some positive things too.
The prominence or rise of digital healthcare such as Healthwire. pk is one such platform that we owe to this pandemic. Digital healthcare is a sector that was not so in the highlights but is now a hot topic that has been addressed at multiple forums. All this spotlight has caused some issues to this sector also. Workplace violence is one such issue. In Pakistan alone according to the gathered data, 600 cases of violence were reported against healthcare workers. So, with all this spotlight the need for proper management is also apparent.
In order to ensure that these healthcare workers that have been providing their unflinching services for quite some time are safe and sound, the government has taken some radical steps. The International Committee of the Red Cross has launched an online training session to combat the impacts of this violence and to make the workers more aware of their rights. This event was organized in collaboration with the University of Lahore. The launch of this innovative process was attended by not only the healthcare workers but also students, and authorities from all around the country.
This initiative is the need of the hour because the violence in any sector or against any person is not tolerable. Doctor Salman Shahid who is serving as the additional secretary of health urged the need to educate the healthcare workers about the proper use of this tool. He said that both the private and the government sectors should be able to use this technology to combat the issue of workplace violence.
He said This training will go a long way as a useful tool that can be utilized by the health sector across Pakistan to ensure that services are provided in the best possible manner,”
The Specifications of this Program
This program is developed and is influenced by the framework of ICRC’s Health Care in Danger initiative. Furthermore, this program also draws inspiration from the 2015 study whose title is ‘Violence Against Health Care: Results from a Multi-Centre Study in Karachi’.
This 2015 study was a collaborative effort of APPNA Institute of Public Health (Jinnah Sindh Medical University), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, and Indus Hospital. The main goal of this study was to train the workers in the following regards such as
- How to manage work stress?
- How to deal with the violence?
- PTSD: what is it and how can you handle it?
- How to break the bad news to the audience?
This study has successfully paved the way for further research in such areas and the need for the latest developments. As a continuation of this fruitful effort, several training sessions have been conducted for the healthcare workers. These training sessions ensure that the workers are able to handle all the stress that comes with this undivided attention.
But this online program is highly relevant and is a much-needed thing at this current moment. Dr. Mirwais who is the head of HCiD initiative in Pakistan stated that they firmly believe that this training session will train the workers properly. This will not only strengthen their communication with others but will also make them more absorbing and they will become more engaging. Furthermore, they will become more interactive with the customers or the general audience. All these measures are there to ensure that a safe and sound working relation is built between the customers and the workers. This connection also ensures the presence of shared empathy. Because building trust has always been difficult and crucial.
Closing Remarks
Healthcare has been revolutionized in the past two years since the pandemic first hit us. With the onset of many complications, the sector of digital healthcare has also transformed. With the launch of this initiative, the workers and consumer relationship will be more strengthened. Because this relationship is the key to the successful availability of services for the customers by the doctors, healthcare professionals, and all the other affiliated personnel.