Dimapur, Jan. 3 (EMN): In view of the surge in Covid-19 cases in the country, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has re-emphasised the importance of upgrading health infrastructure and taking effective measures to curb the spread of the disease.
In a letter addressed to the chief secretaries and administrators of states and union territories, Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has advised to ensure health system preparedness by utilising the existing ECRP-II budget under the different components (for creation of additional isolation beds & field hospitals, ICU beds, pediatric excellence centres, availability of oxygen, ambulances, drugs and diagnostics, human resources and tele-consultation platforms) at the earliest.
1. To address a potential surge in cases, with a view to ensure preparedness, states have been advised to initiate creation of field/ makeshift hospitals to augment availability of health infrastructure.
‘This can be done with coordination with DRDO and CSIR as well as the private sector, corporations, NG05, etc. States may also consider leveraging hotel rooms and other accommodations linked with the Covid dedicated hospitals in government and private sector to cater to patients having mild to moderate symptoms of Covid-19’, it read.
2. Positive cases may be eligible for home isolation would require effective follow up and a clearly defined mechanism for prompt shifting to a health facility in case of deterioration in their health situation. States have been asked to monitor their home isolation protocol and its actual implementation at the field level.
‘Special teams be constituted to monitor all home isolation cases, call centres / control rooms must aid outbound calling for monitoring such patients and ensuring that all such cases can be shifted to an appropriate health facility through dedicated ambulances,’ it read.
3. All states are directed to ensure that control rooms at district-level or sub-district level are made functional. A clearly defined mechanism to access testing, ambulance and hospital beds needs to be put in place and communicated to the public at large, it said.
It added that mechanism wherein citizen can call and get ambulance and a bed in a transparent manner needs to be operationalised.
4. States have also been requested to ensure that the existing Covid dedicated health infrastructure is revisited and necessary action to ensure its operational readiness be taken.
A clear focus on rural areas and pediatric cases must also be maintained. States need to regularly review the availability of required logistics, oxygen availability and buffer stock of drugs across all health facilities in the state. Immediate action to monitor the availability of HR and the orientation on the clinical management protocol through the State Centre of Excellence need to be taken up, it read.
5. To contain the spread of infection, the implementation of containment activities at the field-level is essential, it said. It stated that effective contact tracing coupled with quarantine of contacts including facility quarantine for high risk and comorbid contacts should be taken up. Sufficient number of quarantine facilities should be planned across the state, it added.