Guwahati: Experts have called for greater awareness, early detection, accurate diagnosis and access to specialised care ahead of World Patient Safety Day on Thursday, citing the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which account for 74% of deaths globally.The specialists said standardised laboratory practices and accurate diagnosis were crucial to minimising errors and ensuring timely treatment of NCDs.NCDs, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer, account for 55.96% of healthy years lost to disease and premature death in Assam, according to data from the latest available Health Dossier 2021 compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) and the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC). The figure is lower than the national average of 61.43% of healthy years lost across India.The impact is measured through disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), where one DALY represents one lost year of healthy lifedue to illness, disability, or early death.Doctors said cardiovascular diseases accounted for the highest number of deaths among NCDs, with high blood pressure being a major risk factor.Noted cardiologist Dr NK Bhattacharjee said specialist doctors are crucial for patient safety. “Most importantly, trained or specialist doctors should be available at every level whenever it is possible,” he said. He, however, said that for patient safety, everyone concerned with patient care should be aware of the dangers and pitfalls and take preventive measures.“Patients with hypertension generally need to take medication lifelong and have their blood pressure checked regularly. This is a simple thing to do, but many people fail to follow it,” says pathologist Dr Gayatri Gogoi. She said regular counselling and health education were needed to help patients develop the habit, while family members should also be made aware of the risks.“Educating and counselling both the patient and their family is an important part of patient safety,” Gogoi added.She said long-term care required a multidisciplinary team, including counsellors and other healthcare workers.For cancer, Gogoi said the approach should be more community-based. “It should not be limited to secondary care, where treatment begins only after a person develops the disease. Rather, the approach should start at the community level itself, with greater emphasis on screening and prevention wherever possible,” Gogoi said.
