Assessment of anaesthesia workforce capacity in district and tehsil (taluka) hospitals in Sindh province of Pakistan: a survey

ObjectivesOur objective was to determine the current availability of human resource at secondary care hospitals in Sindh province and to identify gaps in term of appropriate number of anaesthesiologists available for delivery of safe anaesthesia care.DesignA cross-sectional survey of anaesthesia workforce.SettingAll district and taluka hospitals in the Sindh province of Pakistan.ParticipantsAdministrative anaesthesia leaders in the hospitals.Outcome measuresStandard descriptive statistics (percentages and numbers) of anaesthesia workforce in these hospitals including both full-time and part-time physician anaesthesiologists, and non-specialist physicians providing anaesthesia services as well as technician support.ResultsOnly 54 (75%) hospitals had a full-time anaesthesia physician, and 32 of these had only one. Two hundred and one operating rooms were present in 72 (80%) hospitals with an average of three operating rooms/hospital.ConclusionsThis study has identified a deficit of anaesthesiology personnel in district-level and tehsil-level hospitals of Sindh province of Pakistan.