Experts drawn from the Paediatric Anaesthesia Society of Nigeria (PASoN), have called on the Federal and state governments, donor agencies, to invest in the training and retraining of health workers involved in paediatric anaesthesia, inorder to reduce the rate of morbidity and mortality during paediatric surgeries.
The experts made the call at a 3 day training course in Abuja with the theme “Safer Anaesthesia from Education – Paediatrics” (SAFE- Paediatrics) organised by PASoN in partnership with Smile Train, a cleft charity organization.
Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist at the National Hospital Abuja, Dr. Maryrose Osazuwa, noted that given the low number of paediatric anaesthetists in Nigeria, there was need for continuous training to safe guard the lives of children who undergo surgeries.
Osazuwa who doubles as Vice President of PASoN, was optimistic that with increased advocacy and education, more professionals would be trained for better health outcomes.
She said: “We have a limited number of paediatric anaesthetists in Nigeria. There is a need to educate other anaesthetists who also care for children. For instance, resuscitation should precede anaesthesia, and pain should be well managed.”
On mitigation of brain drain, Osazuwa said “apart from the PATA fellowship, which trains two doctors annually, advocacy efforts, training programmes for PASoN members, and all health workers involved in child care, as well as the establishment of protocols, would go a long way in tackling the challenge.”
Consultant Anaesthetist from Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and SAFE Course Director, Dr. Alhassan Datti Mohammed, explained that the training was aimed at teaching c participants how to effectively manage anaesthesia in children undergoing surgery, ensuring their safety throughout the process.
Mohammed emphasised the importance of improving the skills of healthcare workers in adopting better procedures and enhancing post-operative outcomes, particularly considering the challenging nature of paediatric anaesthesia practices.
Speaking in same vein, Dr. Salawu Morayo, a Consultant Anaesthetist at the National Hospital Abuja, who also served as a facilitator for the training, said only continuous training could guarantee safe anaesthesia.
“The administration of anaesthesia in children is particularly challenging due to their unique and delicate nature. Therefore, anaesthetists who handle children need to undergo continuous training and retraining to develop systematic and methodical practices that ensure safer and better anaesthesia, thereby reducing morbidity”.
“Government should employ more anaesthetists, provide training opportunities, and empower them for effective service delivery.” Dr. Salawu appealed.
Earlier, Senior Programme Manager at Smile Train, Victoria Awuzie who revealed that the organization was dedicated to quality healthcare capacity building and advocacy to increase access to safer surgeries in low- and middle- income countries, added that the training targeted 80 participants who would disseminate the knowledge acquired to their respective states and regions.
“Smile Train has partnered with and supported hospitals across Nigeria to enhance their capacity to care for children and ensure their safety during surgeries. our goal is to provide safe anaesthesia for children, regardless of whether they have cleft conditions or not, in order to reduce mortality rates in hospitals during surgeries. We have provided hospitals with equipment and training on their usage. This is a significant investment, and we will continue to train doctors and nurses until we achieve our goal.”
