Dr. Asim Ijaz Calls for Urgent Strengthening of Emergency Medicine Training and Leadership in Pakistan
Islamabad, — Dr. Asim Ijaz, a UK-based Consultant in Emergency Medicine and International Faculty Member of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), has warned that Pakistan’s hospitals continue to lose preventable lives due to critical gaps in emergency training and system readiness.
Speaking ahead of an upcoming RCEM certification and training session to be held in Islamabad on October 27, Dr. Ijaz said the country’s emergency departments still struggle with undertrained staff, delayed diagnoses, and fragmented leadership—issues that cost countless lives every year.
Citing real-life cases, he recalled the death of a young motorcyclist whose internal abdominal bleeding went undetected for hours, and another patient whose mild stomach pain was misdiagnosed, only to later be confirmed as a heart attack. “These are not isolated tragedies,” he said. “They expose the absence of structured emergency medicine systems and specialized training that could have saved these patients.”
For more than a decade, Dr. Asim Ijaz has been at the forefront of building a new generation of emergency physicians in Pakistan. Through workshops, simulation-based courses, and clinical mentorship, he has trained hundreds of young doctors in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, focusing on trauma, sepsis, critical care, and rapid decision-making under pressure.
“We Are Protecting a Future”: Dr. Asim Ijaz Calls for Specialized SMA Emergency Training in Pakistan
The RCEM Emergency Medicine Foundation Programme (EMFP) — launched in Pakistan five years ago — is now a model of structured medical training. The one-year curriculum equips junior doctors with global-standard competencies to manage acutely ill and injured patients, blending classroom learning with real-time simulations. Each trainee is supervised by local mentors while receiving ongoing mentorship from RCEM faculty in the UK. The initiative uses the RCEM e-portfolio system for progress tracking and provides access to Royal College webinars, online resources, and international conferences.
Several EMFP trainees have since gained clinical experience in the UK, returning home to contribute as mentors and educators, helping strengthen local leadership pipelines.
Beyond training, Dr. Ijaz co-leads the cHALO EM Leadership Initiative, a project designed to foster innovation, teamwork, and resilience among emergency professionals. He is also a key supporter of the Pakistan Society of Emergency Medicine (PSEM) Annual Conference 2025, which will bring together national and international experts to share best practices in emergency care.
Dr. Ijaz said the goal is not only to produce skilled clinicians but to build a national emergency response system that works “from triage to transfer.” He stressed that policy alignment, standardized curricula, and investment in emergency medicine education must become national priorities.
“Every life lost to preventable delay is a leadership failure,” he said. “Through sustained education, mentorship, and international collaboration, Pakistan can build a future where emergency rooms save lives — not lose them.”
