key: cord-1018635-sqhzcm87
authors: Qazi, Saqib Hamid; Dogar, Sohail Asghar; Hamid, La-Raib; Pirzada, Areeba Nadeem; Saleem, Ayesha; Das, Jai K
title: Continuing and ensuring surgical care for children during COVID and post-COVID crisis
date: 2020-08-21
journal: J Pediatr Surg
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2020.08.012
sha: 8fff330cb6c4bb576998cfaeaa68d6e067e2730d
doc_id: 1018635
cord_uid: sqhzcm87

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It is imperative to note that Pakistan has attained its plateau and is in the recovery phase, but patients may still feel under-informed as their apprehensions have not been adequately alleviated. Many remain fearful of the possibility of contracting the virus while waiting in patient areas or being exposed while being treated. There are also concerns about the possible shortage of essential personal protective equipment which may compromise the quality of healthcare provision (5) . An effective way to address these issues is to ensure that patients are informed. This could be accomplished through various channels, including mass and social media and specific messages to patients on the deferral list describing the measures implemented for the availability of surgical capacity, pre-operative testing, and the division of the hospital and the operating room into two zones, with one zone solely dedicated to suspected and confirmed COVID cases (4).

The countries with a sustained reduction of cases for a longer duration of time should start devising strategies to ensure resumption of their normal hospital and surgical services (6,7), as has been the case with other sectors including markets, restaurants, tourism, and education. In the upcoming months, devising recovery plans that suits every specialty or hospital will be challenging but continuous development of guidelines and frameworks to overcome this burden will strengthen and better equip the healthcare system during the post-pandemic phase, and also ensure quality of patient care and adequate training of the young trainees and doctors.

From the editors: The COVID-19 crisis and its implications for pediatric surgeons

Immediate and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delivery of surgical services. The British journal of surgery

Global guidance for surgical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The British journal of surgery

Challenges to delivering pediatric surgery services in the midst of COVID 19 crisis: experience from a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan. Pediatric surgery international

Where are all the patients? Addressing Covid-19 fear to encourage sick patients to seek emergency care. NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery

Resuming elective surgical services in times of COVID-19 infection. Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open

Roadmap for Restarting Elective Surgery During/After COVID-19 Pandemic