HEALTH WITHOUT WEALTH

Dr. B. J. K. Pera
MBBS (Cey), DCH (Cey), DCH (Eng), MD (Paed), MRCP (UK), FRCP (Edin), FRCP (Lon), FRCPCH (UK), FSLCPaed, FCCP, Hony FRCPCH (UK) Kingdom UK), Hon. FCGP (SL)
Consultant Pediatrician and Honorary Principal Investigator, Institute of Graduate Medical Education, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Teenagers and young adults are in the news for a variety of reasons. some are good, some are bad, and some are even ugly. However, their significance for the nation is indisputable, because they are the future of our country. This is truly the pearl of Sri Lanka.

However, if you look around today, you will see a bleak picture of teenagers suffering from educational interruptions, apparent transportation problems, poverty, food insecurity and, to top it all off, inadequate housing. in our highly influential public health service.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a "child" as a person under the age of 18, unless relevant national laws permit an earlier age of majority. Sri Lanka has signed this agreement. However, at present, all pediatric departments of the National Health Service of Sri Lanka, all hospitals, including specialized children's hospitals, accept patients under the age of 14 years. People over this age are included in the adult section. It is necessary to analyze and consider this situation in detail.

There are numerous research publications on the different perspectives of children and young people in children's and adult departments. In short, these young people are rather uncomfortable and happy with both places. They do not want to be treated like children and are very worried about what is happening in the adult rooms. They would like adolescents and young people to receive special arrangements to meet their needs, and that measures and care be adapted to the age group.

The prestigious British medical journal Pediatrics Open, published on December 15, 2022 in a special supplement to the 6th volume, published not one, not two, not two, not even three; but a total of 70, YES... seventy research papers from around the world on various aspects of adolescent health. Among other things, the physical, mental and socio-economic problems faced by adolescents and young people. The central theme of most of these publications is the axiom that the needs of adolescents are fundamentally different from those of children and adults. When we carefully examine the contents of these insightful documents, it becomes clear that these differences are very important and critical to the ultimate quest for optimal health care for adolescents.

At least for now, the political and administrative forces of our Mother should be encouraged or even intimidated and forced to take useful steps so that they think about providing adolescents with the necessary wards, clinics and medical care at least in the main hospitals of the island. . at home These services will require special rooms for adolescents and young adults, medical clinics for adolescents and, above all, medical personnel specially trained and qualified to serve the needs of these young people. These teenagers need privacy, compassion and kindness, and they need to develop and continue to trust the people who are assigned to care for their health needs. Special training for these workers is required to ensure this guarantee. As pediatricians caring for young children, we are all too familiar with those children who become teenagers and insist that we continue to care for them because they believe in us. This is especially true for those who need long-term care.

Adolescent care in our National Health Service is now seriously underestimated and therefore virtually non-existent. This scenario will require a paradigm shift and a complete rethinking of the mindset of legislators from the outset to understand that providing these opportunities is absolutely necessary and one of the ways forward. The future progress of our country. If we do not take care of the health of young people, we will achieve nothing. Such experiments and such important efforts in the care of adolescents must begin with the provision of infrastructure to meet the special needs of adolescents. New wards and clinics need to be built or opened, and health workers need to be specially trained to meet the very specific needs of young people. The infrastructure must be specially designed to ensure the privacy of these young people. Above all, these patients must have maximum confidentiality.

It is especially important to have trained personnel for the care of adolescents. People working in childcare facilities receive special training to meet the needs of children. However, those who work with adolescents and young people need special additional training. This includes medical and pediatric specialists, psychologists, nurses and all categories of junior staff.

Certainly, today, in a country threatened by the effects of an economic downturn, rampant corruption, and extremely poor governance, such a youth health initiative may be second on the list of priorities. the people at the head of the legislature. However, along with all this, new and emerging problems for the population of our wonderful country are being prepared for the near future, including a low level of education, food security, international debt, poverty, unemployment and many other problems. . Disasters, including the oppression of youth, can cause great suffering to the youth of our beloved island. As adults, and even more so as members of parliament, we have an obligation to care for the adolescents and youth of our country. It is said that no one is so blind as the one who refuses to see, and no one is so deaf as the one who refuses to hear. There is everything that can be seen and heard from horses. The best proof of this is the number of young people who are encouraged to move abroad in search of greener pastures.

Finally, I would like to repeat the immortal words of this great statesman, Nelson Mandela, for all to see and hear, even at the risk of repeating them again. He said: “There is no sharper expression of the soul of a society than how it treats its children. Let's go to the kids." I'm sure he meant teenagers and young adults. Nelson Mandela turned over and over again in his grave. again when we refused to do so.

Now it is your hand, these forces.

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