Cabinet Approves Rs 23 Cr for enhancing Health Infrastructure
The Union cabinet has approved a Rs 23,123-crore package for improving health infrastructure to fight COVID-19 as a part of which around 2.4 lakh medical beds and 20,000 ICU ones would be created with a special specialise in paediatric care. Addressing a news conference here after the primary meeting of the Union cabinet following its reshuffle on Wednesday, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the package are going to be implemented over subsequent nine months till March 2022.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mandaviya said this is often the second phase of the Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package because the central government had given Rs 15,000 crore earlier for fixing Covid-dedicated hospitals and health centres across the country. Under the new package, the Centre would offer Rs 15,000 crore and states Rs 8,123 crore, and therefore the plan would be implemented jointly by them across all the 736 districts to enhance medical infrastructure at primary and district health centres.
Around 2.4 lakh normal medical beds and 20,000 ICU beds would be created of which 20% would be specially earmarked for youngsters , he said. The minister said storage facilities for oxygen and medicines would even be created at district level under the plan. a politician statement said states and UTs would be supported to make paediatric units altogether 736 districts and to determine Paediatric Centre of Excellence in each state and UT (either in medical colleges, government hospitals or central hospitals like AIIMS, INIs, etc) for providing tele-ICU services, mentoring and technical hand-holding to the district paediatric units.
They would be supported to reinforce 20,000 ICU beds publicly healthcare system out of which 20% are going to be pediatric ICU beds, it said. The Phase-II of the package has central sector (CS) and centrally-sponsored schemes (CSS) components. The statement said that under the central sector components, support would be provided to central hospitals, All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, and other Institutions of National Importance under DoHFW for repurposing 6,688 beds for COVID-19 management. National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) would be strengthened by providing genome sequencing machines, besides sanctioning scientific room , epidemic intelligence services (EIS) and other support, it said.
Support would be provided for the implementation of Hospital Management data system (HMIS) altogether the district hospitals of the country (presently, it’s implemented only in 310 DHs), the statement said. All district hospitals would implement HMIS through NIC-developed e-Hospital and CDAC developed E-Shushrutsoftwares. this may be the most important impetus for implementation of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) at the DHs, the statement said.
Support would even be provided for expanding the national architecture of eSanjeevani tele-consultation platform to supply upto 5 lakhs tele-consultations per day from this 50,000, the statement said. Support would even be provided for IT interventions, including strengthening the Central room at DoHFW, strengthening the COVID-19 Portal, the 1075 COVID help lines and Co-WIN platform, the statement said. Under the CSS components, efforts are aimed toward strengthening district and sub-district capacity for an efficient and rapid response to the pandemic.
States and UTs would be helped to supply care closer to the community thanks to the ingress of COVID-19 in rural, peri-urban and tribal areas, by creating pre-fabricated structures for adding additional beds at the prevailing CHCs, PHCs and SHCs (6-20 bedded units) and support would even be provided to determine bigger field hospitals (50-100 bedded units) counting on the requirements at tier-II or tier-III cities and district HQs, the statement said.
They would tend help to put in 1,050 liquid medical oxygen storage tanks with medical gas pipeline system (MGPS) with an aim to support a minimum of one such unit per district and augment the prevailing feet of ambulances, the statement said. As many as 8,800 ambulances are going to be added under the package, it said. Undergraduate and post graduate medical interns and final year MMBS, BSc and GNM nursing students would be engaged for effective Covid management, it added. In March 2020, when the country was faced with the primary wave of the COVID 19 pandemic, the PM announced a Central Sector Scheme of Rs. 15,000 crore because the ‘India COVID 19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Package’, the statement said. Since mid-February 2021, the country is experiencing a second wave with spread into rural, peri-urban and tribal areas, the statement added.
