In a bid to improve the quality of neonatal care in the state, the three-day conference, 15th Karnataka State Neonatal Conference, saw the participation of over 300 doctors, nurses, post graduate and medical students wherein top experts in the field spoke about the latest practices in new-born care in the country.
The conference that took place at Jnana Jyothi Auditorium, Central College Compound University, also featured an exhibition that featured the latest equipment in neonatal care in India.
“When you look at problems globally, infection remains one of the biggest problems when it comes to taking care of newborn babies but that problem in compounded that much more in developing countries like India,” said Dr Venkatesh HA, neonatologist and organising secretary of the conference.
“Conferences such as these are very important because they prove as refresher courses for everyone from practising paediatricians to post graduate students. We are not trying to impart them with the latest advances but more about helping them improve the quality of care they provide newborns,” he added.
As part of the conference, one-day workshops were held in top hospitals across the city on Friday wherein nurses and doctors were trained in directly. “We wanted to provide them with hands on experience. Those workshops which were held in hospitals such as St John’s Medical Hospital saw the participation of over 200 people,” he added.
When it comes to conferences such as these, Dr Janaki Viswanath, neonatologist from KR Hospital, said that doctors need to be kept abreast of effective care. “The neonatal mortality rate in India is about 40% to 45%. States such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar rank high in the list with a high percentage. The state with the lowest number is Kerala followed by Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka is the third lowest in that list,” she said.
One of the most important highlights of the conference that concluded on Sunday, was the special training imparted to nurses, according to Viswanath.
“We had a whole session just dedicated to training nurses and the kinds of methods they can employ to ensure the health of a new born. It is important to make sure we provide the best for children. If we are able to take care of a cardiac patient at 70 years of age, we should know that we are only giving that person with a few more years of quality life but if we can provide the same care to a newborn, we are giving at least 70 more years of quality life,” she added.
source: http://www.dnaindia.com / Daily News & Analysis / Home> Bangalore> Report / by DNA Correspondent, Place: Bangalore, Agency: DNA / Monday, September 10th, 2012