Need more action to deal with: challenges faced by our health Heroes in Remote areas, Ex-FATA

 Author: Aftab Ahmad, He did a Diploma in general nursing in 2011, Post RN BScN from Zia Uddin University in 2015. Post Basic Cardiac Specialization in 2016 from Tabba Heart Institute. He has vast clinical experience in a reputed institute from 2012 to 2016, currently, he is an MScN scholar at AKU.

“Need more action to deal with: challenges faced by our health Heroes in Remote areas, Ex-FATA.”

 

 Introduction:                                                         

Healthcare Professionals have a significant role in healthcare settings to provide quality health care and mental support to the patient and their family. Healthcare Professionals deliver their services in critical /harsh environments and challenging conditions worldwide. These harsh environments may be disaster zones, conflict areas, remote regions, and resource-limited settings. We will try to explore all these challenges faced by healthcare providers in such harsh environments of ex-FATA and the effect of these challenges on patient care. 

Ex FATA is one of the backward regions of Pakistan. All resources of basic needs are limited such as education, health, food supply, and transportation. They must work with limited medical resources like lack of medical and surgical instruments supply, emergency medicines, and unavailability of specialist consultants, laboratory, and radiology facilities. Doctors, Nurses, and paramedical staff try their best to contribute their services with these limited resources to the patients, their families, and the community. This shortage of resources creates a critically challenging environment for HCWs to provide quality care, prioritize patients and make tough decisions regarding treatment options. 

Besides limited resources healthcare personnel, working in merged areas (ex FATA) are also facing communication and connectivity issues. Most of the areas have no internet/phone call facilities in this modern and advanced period of science and technology. The unavailability of proper communication puts immense stress on healthcare givers. In emergencies, HCWs face difficulty in decision-making for a critically ill patient without proper communication. Therefore, HCWs use their experience and expertise to manage such critical patients. “The front-line rural African health workers’ experience and the challenges they face daily are often ignored. Understanding these challenges, in turn, is crucial to seize opportunities and activate health policy and planning”. (Jaeger et al., 2018) 

To provide maximum quality care and physical and mental support to the patient, family, and community, HCWS must have minimum mental stress and anxiety. Unsafety and security are one of them causes of mental stress. Residents of FATA, and employees of public and private sectors, also have safety and security issues. However, the people of ex-FATA have experienced multiple army operations, Talibanization, and entire social instability for many years. So, HCWs struggle to maintain their safety while providing basic health care. Lack of law and order, unsuitable environment, few security facilities, and the presence of armed forces are the factors that make a challenging environment for HCWs of ex -FATA Pakistan. Targeting healthcare settings with a missile, and receiving threads from various sources, may have a profound psychological impact on HCWs. Observing the most critical patient regularly, managing a vast number of patients, and making life-saving choices with few resources can result in fatigue, exhaustion, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Call for action:

Performing duties in a harsh environment is a challenging task for healthcare givers. The government of KPK and local administration took responsibility to provide a comfortable, acceptable, and reliable environment for healthcare givers. It is also the responsibility of the local community, social workers, and political and religious scholars to cooperate with them and make sure that they are safe and secure.  

Conclusion:

Healthcare professionals working in harsh environments, such as the ex-FATA region of Pakistan, encounter numerous challenges that impact patient care. Limited resources, communication gaps, safety concerns, and high levels of stress affect the quality of healthcare delivery. Adequate support, resources, and improved conditions are necessary to enable healthcare givers to overcome these challenges and continue delivering essential care to the community. 

References:

Jaeger, F. N., Bechir, M., Harouna, M., Moto, D. D., & Utzinger, J. (2018). Challenges and opportunities for healthcare workers in a rural district of Chad. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2799-6