Bhubaneswar: The 24th National Conference of Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) ‘PEDICRITICON 2022’ ended at the KIIT campus here on Sunday with pediatricians from across the country and abroad calling for pediatric ICUs to be set up in all government, private hospitals and medical colleges across the country.
The conference — organised by IAP Intensive Care Chapter Odisha Branch, in association with IAP Odisha — was held for the first time in eastern India.
About 30 international faculties from world-class institutions like Harvard University, Kings College London, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia among others attended the conference.
There were pediatricians from The Netherlands, Middle East, Indonesia, Nepal, New Zealand as well, while doctors from Canada gave online lectures.
Besides getting the chance to interact with specialists from different parts of India and overseas, pediatricians of Odisha got exposure to scientific advancements made in the field and upgrade their knowledge which will help them offer advanced treatment to patients in the state.
The conference also aimed at inspiring doctors and developing interest in the subject.
IAP president-elect Dr GV Basavaraj stressed on the efforts of all stakeholders for provision of pediatric ICUs in all private, government hospitals and various medical colleges across the nation.
KIIT-KISS founder Dr Achyuta Samanta compared doctors with the Almighty and pointed out that as pediatricians treat future generations, KISS — a unit of KIIT offering education and care to tribal students free of cost — also takes care of neglected kids and makes them self-reliant and future-ready through education.
Renowned pediatrician Dr Sibabrata Patnaik said the theme of this year’s conference was “rationale, reachable and reasonable.”
He said the conference sought knowledge upgradation of doctors for rational treatment and make all stakeholders, including the government, aware of the importance of having pediatric ICUs at district level for quick and better treatment.
The other objective was to make treatment affordable for all classes of society.
Dr Sibabrata said that awareness about critical care treatment in the field of pediatrics in Odisha is less compared to other states.
“We need to raise the level of awareness among our doctors about intensive care treatment, which is difficult compared to general pediatrics. This conference was aimed at realising this objective,” he said.
