A new study carried out in Australia has pressed the national government to work on triage policies in the event another pandemic arises, warning that lack of proper protocols puts clinicians in a tight corner when making decisions
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2021) A new study carried out in Australia has pressed the national government to work on triage policies in the event another pandemic arises, warning that lack of proper protocols puts clinicians in a tight corner when making decisions.
The study was published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday. It was authored by researchers from Queensland University of Technology, the University of Southern Queensland, the University of Western Australia, Townsville University Hospital, and James Cook University.
"So far, Australia has avoided the scale of pandemic that has overwhelmed health systems elsewhere. While in this context, governments' reluctance to develop and/or release triage protocols until a crisis has arrived is politically understandable, such a course of action carries significant risks," the research said.
First of all, the situation holds many risks for clinicians as to the consequences of decisions that they have to make, the study noted.
"Australia's successful management of the COVID�19 pandemic is offering us the luxury of time to consult and reflect," it added.
Unlike some other Commonwealth countries like the United Kingdom or India, Australia has managed to keep virus cases at bay, having recorded over 30,000 cumulative cases and 910 deaths
The outbreak of the pandemic which laid bare limited medical resources in many countries, including the more developed has revealed the significance of transparent triage. Many, however, have faulted triage policy on the moral account that it is too strictly utilitarian and infringes on the legal rights of a patient. From the legal perspective, it is an instrument to enhance the lawful decision-making process and protect doctors from any legal matter that may arise in the line of duty.
