Emergency care for children all across Balochistan

In partnership with the provincial government, ChildLife Foundation has successfully covered every district in Balochistan through its Emergency Room and Telemedicine Satellite Centers.

According to a statement issued by ChildLife Foundation, ChildLife has treated over 67,000 children in its state-of-the-art pediatric Emergency Room in Balochistan’s largest teaching hospital in Quetta. The latest life-saving equipment in the ER, trained staff that remains available around the clock, and continuous support from the Telemedicine Control Room in Karachi helps save children’s lives every day.

In addition, a total of 18,000 telemedicine consultations have also been provided to patients from far-flung regions of the province in 32 Telemedicine Satellite Centers located in Pishin, Hub, Khuzdar, Naseerabad, Zhob, Loralai, Killa Abdullah, Kech (Turbat), Panjgur, Mastung, Sibi, Killa Saifullah, Dera Allahyar, Gwadar, Surab, Ziarat, Nushki, Duki, Kohlu, Sohbatpur, Dera Bugti, Jhal Magsi (Gandawah), Kachhi (Dhadar), Kalat, Barkhan, Washuk (Besima), Harnai, Musakhel, Sherani, Chagai, Kharan and Awaran.

“We are very grateful to the government of Balochistan for backing our endeavors to improve healthcare for children in the province,” says Dr. Ahson Rabbani, CEO ChildLife Foundation.

“In 2020, ChildLife renovated the children’s ER in Quetta’s Sandeman Provincial Hospital, which now has 50 beds. After that, we began working with district-level hospitals to provide quality emergency care closer to homes. Today, we have covered every single district in the province through our telemedicine network,” he added.

Mr. Syed Asad Agha, Director Operations at ChildLife Foundation, explains, “We implemented our revolutionary telemedicine hub-and-spoke technology in Balochistan’s DHQs. This involved the installation of IP phones and HD cameras in every DHQ, converting it into a Telemedicine Satellite Center (TSC) with 24/7 consultation available from the Telemedicine Control Room in Karachi’s Civil Hospital.”

Under ChildLife’s telemedicine model, expert physicians in Karachi are able to provide consultation to children brought to the DHQs in Balochistan’s remote areas. If a child is critically sick, the Telemedicine doctor provides initial treatment and refers them to the ER in Quetta. The hospital staff is informed beforehand of the patient’s arrival and is apprised of the medical history through the HMIS app. This process saves critical time.

It is to be noted that ChildLife operates a total of 11 children’s Emergency Rooms in the country. Out of these, 9 are located in Sindh, 1 in Balochistan and 1 in Punjab. Since its establishment in 2011, ChildLife Foundation has saved 4 million children in Pakistan by providing them with free of cost emergency care.

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