Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar today lauded the tele intensive care units as a revolutionary step in healthcare. Speaking at the inauguration of tele ICU clusters at Bengaluru and Ballari, he said, “The ability to manage critical patients in remote places by doctors in Bengaluru is a revolutionary step.” He further said,
There are many people who have voluntarily come forward to make this possible. The tele ICUs enable ICU beds to be set up in far-off places and the patients there can be monitored remotely by experts in Bengaluru. This facility must be expanded to all the places so that high-quality medical care is available to everyone. Karnataka is at the forefront of healthcare in the country and the state has made a name for itself in health tourism too. Private healthcare providers too have contributed to the healthcare in the city in a big way.
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He further asserted that Tele ICUs should be set up at all the taluk headquarters.
By the time patients are brought to Bengaluru or some other large city, it would be too late. This facility is a boon for people in villages. Tele ICUs must be set up at all the taluk headquarters. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundurao and the officers are committed to providing the best healthcare. Health is wealth and our government is committed to that.
Deputy CM Shivakumar further added that Karnataka has the highest number of medical colleges in the country and our state produces the most number of doctors.
The State exports doctors to other states and countries. I suggest making the medical colleges financially independent.
He further said that there are many complaints that 108 ambulances take patients to private hospitals on priority in case of emergencies though government hospitals are there in the area. He said,
This puts patients in financial difficulty as private hospitals are expensive. I urge the authorities to use the technology and track the ambulance.
The inauguration was also attended by the state Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao, who said that tele-ICU system will be set up in all taluk hospitals of the state in a phased manner. The minister said the people in rural areas should be treated by qualified specialist doctors. It is becoming difficult for rural people from remote villages to visit super-specialty hospital in distant district for treatment. He said,
Tele-ICU system is helpful in providing super specialty care at taluk hospitals. We have emphasised on the use of technologies such as setting up ICU centres at the taluk level and monitoring them from here]
The Health Minister said that health check-up and consultation of patients admitted to taluk hospitals in case of emergency can be given by the specialist doctors through tele – ICU.
This system has already been implemented in Hubballi and Mysuru and now we have implemented tele-ICU in Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru and Ballari Medical College. A total of four government medical institutions have been created as hubs and 41 taluk hospitals have been linked to them.
Minister Gundurao said that 10 tele-ICU beds have been arranged in these 41 taluk hospitals and super-specialty care will be available to patients with the advice of expert doctors through AI technologies.
Nine taluk hospitals each have been linked to Bengaluru and Ballari cluster, 10 taluk hospitals have been linked to Hubballi KIMS Hospital and 13 taluk hospitals have been linked to Mysuru Medical Institute. A total of 41 taluk hospitals have been constituted as spoke centres, he added. He further said,
There is a plan to set up tele-ICU in 60 taluk hospitals next year.
Minister Dinesh Gundurao said that health services of specialist doctors will be provided through tele-ICU in all taluk hospitals of the state step by step.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
