Dhaka, Nov 26 (bdnews24.com) – With expert
doctors and state-of-the-art equipment around, Bangladesh needs to work on
infusing 'confidence' among patients, visiting foreign doctors say.
"I have had a very good interaction with
the doctors. I have also trained some of them in Singapore. They are very eager
to learn, very attentive," Dr Ding Zee Pin, senior consultant of National
Heart Centre Singapore, told bdnews24.com in an interview on the sidelines of
the ongoing fourth international conference on cardiology in the capital.
Labaid Cardiac Hospital organised the event,
bringing a number of foreign and local doctors on one platform in its bid to
share knowledge and skills.
A consultant cardiologist of St. Mary's
Hospital in London, Dr Pipin Kojodjojo also said the doctors are quite
enthusiastic to learn and keen to bring in new technologies.
"I have seen such equipment here, which
are not even licensed in the United States. One of such medicines is
'combination defibrillator', used to regulate beats of the patients at risk of
sudden cardiac arrest."
Then why patients do not get confidence and
seek overseas healthcare?
Well, according to them, it is a combination
of factors.
"Basically it's patient's perception that
takes time to change," Ding said and that it took 25 to 30 years for
Singapore to infuse confidence among patients.
"Once they (Singapore) did not have
technologies. Patients felt overseas doctors are better, but now it's different
story altogether."
An international expert in the field of
Doppler and echocardiography in Asia Pacific region, Ding said hospitals should
be informed about their success and complication rates, length of stay in
hospitals, and infection rate so that patients can compare.
"They can also give a comparative
picture. If people see you are transparent, it would help to build confidence.
Pipin, also a senior lecturer at Imperial
College in London, replied, "You can say the same for most countries in
the world. You know doctor-patient relationship is always complicated."
"But you (doctors) have to care for
patients," he said and that socio-economic condition of different
countries makes the situation different.
"It'll take time (to grow confidence in
patients). It took many years for Singapore.
"Bangladesh has started a little later.
But whole industry needs to grow together," he said suggesting developing
nursing, technicians and other hospital facilities to build trust of patients.
"Patients take long time to develop
confidence, but lose fast."
Sharing his experience in a conference, Pipin
said doctors want to do more. "Together with the government, they want to
bring new technologies."
"But the problem is patients here see
specialists much later than in London. Since they delay, doctors happen to see
them in later stages of ailment."
As the number of heart patients is rising
across the globe with lifestyle changes, the experts suggested promoting
healthier lifestyle.
"Trend suggests that in future, lots of
people will require cardiac care. So, you should promote healthier
lifestyle," Ding said. "There should be general awareness about
what's healthy and what's not."
"Then the disease pattern might
change."
"In Singapore supermarket you would see
food items containing health messages – which one is healthy and which one is
not. Now people are getting more conscious."
For the future doctors, the message from
international experts' is: "Keep learning, and stay curious. If you don't,
you will fall behind."
"We learn things all through the life.
Things always change. If you don't learn, your patients will no longer get the
benefits of new techniques and new medicines," the UK specialist Pipin
said.
Nurul Islam Hasib
bdnews24.com
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