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Demand for nurses, pharmacists to surge

Within the next 20 years, around 70 per cent of the ageing population will be residing in the developing world.

Health workers such as nurses, pharmacists and midwives could play an important role in primary care, especially when demand for these services increases as the population ages. However, this critical role is yet to be recognised here, said a primary care expert.

“All over the world, demographically, the population is changing; we’re all ageing. It is estimated that within the next 20 years, around 70 per cent of the ageing population will be residing in the developing world... and this will create a lot of problems for the whole health system - primary care, secondary care, social services and the like. We should plan very well for it,” said Professor Nabil Sulaiman, head of Family and Community Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah.

He was speaking at the Family Medicine Conference during the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress (ADMC) on Sunday. He noted that while health workers in other countries provide primary care, they still remain “under-utilised” in this region.

“Nurse practitioners could do everything that we do except prescribing. You can train them as (health) educators and perhaps they are better than us because they have a much longer time dedicated to patients,” Prof Sulaiman said.

He added that pharmacists can also do a lot of things like screening and measuring blood pressure, and giving better information about medicines.

“Our role will be changing, we have to involve more nurses, pharmacists and midwives... We need more people in the primary care,” Prof Sulaiman said. This is particularly pertinent in the future, when primary care shifts to ambulatory care (e.g. home care) as a result of the ageing population, he added.

According to Prof Sulaiman, with over 30 per cent of the population visiting their family doctors, primary healthcare is the heart of the health system.

With their patient-centered approach, primary physicians are responsible for preventing illnesses and getting patients admitted to hospitals.

They play a major role in screening against diseases, helping patients manage their chronic conditions and adhering to treatment regimes, thus reducing mortality.

Dr Osman El-Labban, family medicine consultant at Al Zahra Hospital in Dubai said: “We are the first line in attending to patients. Due to continuity of care, family doctors know their patients well enough and long enough over time.”

However, one area that needs special attention in the future is mental health. -olivia@khaleejtimes.com