Sharing expertise to help people breathe
Sri Lanka College of Pulmonologists holds ‘Respire 2024’
Multi-disciplinary team work not just within hospitals but extending beyond to other hospitals within Sri Lanka and also across the seas to the region to provide good lung and thoracic care to patients.
This was what was emphasized at ‘Respire 2024’, the two-day 14th Annual Academic Sessions of the Sri Lanka College of Pulmonologists (SLCP) inaugurated last Sunday (February 18) in Colombo on the theme ‘Beyond Borders for Better Breath’.
Explaining that the SLCP now has under its wing not only Respiratory Physicians but also Paediatric Pulmonologists and Thoracic Surgeons, President Dr. Bodhika Samarasekera, said that they have a membership of around 80 and also 25 in postgraduate training.
The inauguration was attended by Chief Guest and Health Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana and two Guests-ofHonour, Health Secretary Dr. Palitha Mahipala and Indian Chest Society Vice President Dr. Vijai Kumar.
The Dr. C.G. Uragoda Oration on ‘The critical importance of multidisciplinary evaluation – reflections on post-millennial medical thinking’ was delivered by Prof. Athol Wells, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust, United Kingdom (UK).
The interactive sessions which followed on Monday and Tuesday discussed airway diseases, air pollution, pleural diseases, sleep-related matters and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) which were causing concern.
Dr. Samarasekera went onto explain that there had been poor medication compliance for TB during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, TB is now showing a rising trend of infections, with
With worries also being caused by infections such as COVID-19, influenza and pneumonia rampantly circulating amidst people, more and more do we see the need for a multidisciplinary approach to patient care
silent community spread which needs to be halted urgently.
“With worries also being caused by infections such as COVID-19, influenza and pneumonia rampantly circulating amidst people, more and more do we see the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care,” he says.
Around 300 from India, Bangladesh and Nepal, augmented by local numbers had participated in the academic sessions, while around 140 from 11 countries including Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe had been part of the International Respiratory Forum held in January.
Dr. Samarasekera reiterates that these meetings help to share knowledge which should not be restricted by borders.
Linked to the academic sessions, the college had held workshops and symposia for outstation doctors in Jaffna, Kandy and Galle. This is while world renowned specialists had conducted interventional pulmonology utilizing the bronchoscope and thoracoscope for sample-taking, diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.
Another interesting workshop had been pulmonary rehabilitation through a multidisciplinary team held at the Sri Jayewardenepura University for doctors, nurses and physiotherapists.
“The need is great for such rehabilitation,” stresses Dr. Samarasekera, talking with empathy of the plight of those affected by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD – a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs); Bronchiectasis (a chronic lung condition where the walls of the airways widen and thicken due to inflammation and infection); and Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD – a large group of diseases that cause scarring or fibrosis of the lungs).
These people need longterm support and care including proper nutrition, regular exercise, vaccination, encouragement to quit smoking and psychological support, he adds.