Hemant inaugurates new hospital at Bokaro, upgrades oxygen facility at Latehar Sadar
Ranchi, June 8:Â Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Tuesday launched a handbook for preparation for the third wave of Covid-19.
The handbook named ‘Manual for preparation, prevention and planning for Covid-19 third wave in Jharkhand, the way forward’ prepared by a special committee chaired jointly by bureaucrats Dr Shantanu Agrahari and Dr Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh (both MBBS and comprising experts from various medical professions recommend bridging gap between existing infrastructural facilities and human resources by September-end.
“The handbook of 257 pages is a set of suggestions on infrastructure, human resources and also fixes responsibility at different levels and sets a time-line at all levels. It also suggests steps taken to curb malnutrition among children in rural parts. We do not how severe the third wave would be but experts opine that children will be worst hit in this wave. The government has started preparation in right earnest for it. The book is a blue print of the government preparation and efforts required to tackle the third wave of Covid and opinions of experts from across the country have been incorporated in it” said Hemant Soren while launching the book at Ranchi on Tuesday.
The book suggests setting up of a minimum of 10-bed paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at all district hospitals (Sadar hospitals) and a minimum of 20-bed PICI at commissionaire levels (Dumka, Hazaribagh, Chaibasa, Ranchi and Daltonganj).
The handbook also directs for making available ventilation therapy at all district hospitals with facilities like high flow nasal canula (HFNC), Continuous Positive Airways Pressure (C-PAP) at all the district hospitals.
There is also a suggestion for setting up a high dependency unit at all medical college and hospitals and at least 10 oxygen supported beds at the community health centres (CHCs) across state.
“The book highlights gap analysis of the existing human resource and infrastructural facilities and also suggests improving infrastructure and recruitment of manpower and training of the existing doctors, nurses and paramedics and also taking help of private paediatrics. It fixes responsibility of the deputy commissioners and civil surgeons at district levels and sets timeline for different works and have been directed to prepare action plan taking into consideration the lacunaes detected during the second wave of the Covid-19 and bring about the infrastructure properly,” said Soren.
The deputy commissioners and civil surgeons have also been directed to submit their report on the human resource and infrastructural facilities lacking in their areas as part of preparation for the third wave of Covid-10 in terms of ICU beds, oxygen supported beds, nurses, paramedics and paediatrics.
The chief minister further said that the intensive public health survey taking place in the rural parts will help government in preparing database of the health conditions in rural parts where more than 70 per cent of the state’s population resides and give a direction for the governments plan to improve health infrastructure in rural parts.
Health minister Banna Gupta said that under the guidance of chief minister the state is well on its way for advance planning to cope with the third wave of Covid.
Hemant Soren also inaugurated online a 100-bed hospital set up by Vedanta Carefields Hospital at Bokaro and an ICU ward and piped oxygen supply facility at Sadar Hospital in Latehar on Tuesday.
“The government is preparing a health corridor so that every residents gets proper treatment and this concept is not only confined for treatment of Covid patients in urban areas but also for rural populace. Even when the second wave of Covid was its peak we were able to supply oxygen to other states and even people from other states came to Jharkhand for treatment,” said Soren while inaugurating the health facilities online.
The chief minister also hailed the efforts of the health department and respective district administration for being able to contain the second wave of Covid and provide health facilities to residents.
Hemant Soren also advised Latehar deputy commissioner Abu Imran to take support of companies engaged in mining in the areas as part of CSR initiatives in improving health facilities.
