Health dept trains doctors, nurses, ASHA workers at block level

HALDWANI: Doctors along with nurses, pharmacists and ASHA workers at the block level are being trained with the aim to provide treatment to children of remote and hilly areas during third wave of Covid-19 pandemic, said health officials.

Dr. Rashmi Pant, additional chief medical officer Nainital said, “We have started working on an action plan to prevent the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The health department has trained paediatric doctors to treat Covid-infected children. Now, training is being given at the block level starting from doctors to ASHA workers.”

“In the first phase, 20 doctors of Sushila Tiwari Government Hospital Haldwani have been trained. In this training, information about medicines, dosage, nutrition among others has been given to the medical staff,” she said.

Dr. Pant further said, “We have decided that the doctors who have been trained will now train other doctors, nurses, pharmacists and ASHA workers at the block level, so that children from remote and hilly areas can get treatment at community health centres ad primary healthcare centres.”

A referral facility map has also been formed to ferry critical children to Sushila Tiwari Hospital, said health officials.

For the third wave of Covid-19, Base Hospital and Sushila Tiwari hospital in Haldwani, BD Pandey hospital in Nainital, RD Joshi joint hospital in Ramnagar have been made level-two hospitals. At the same time, oxygen concentrators and ambulances have been made available in all CHCs and PHCs of the district, health officials said.

Abhijay Negi, counsel of one of the petitioners in a bunch of PILs being heard by Uttarakhand high court on Covid situation in the state had raised this issue during the hearing on July 7.

The July 27 HC order had stated that according to the counsel, there is a lack of paediatric wards, paediatric beds, and paediatric ventilators in the government hospitals.

According to the counsel, since the third wave is likely to adversely affect the health of the children, it is imperative for the state to be well prepared with beds, specifically marked for the children. Moreover, there is a need to augment the number of paediatric wards and to increase the number of paediatric ventilators available in government hospitals.

According to the counsel, if the Government hospitals are not strengthened to deal with the children, who are likely to be affected by the third waive, a chaotic situation again will be created, where the people will have to run unnecessarily from pillar to post in order to save the lives of their children.”

The HC had directed the health secretary Amit Negi to inform the court with regard to the availability of the paediatric beds, paediatric ventilators, and paediatric wards in the government and private hospitals operating in the state.

THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS TRAINED PAEDIATRIC DOCTORS TO TREAT COVIDINFECTED CHILDREN. NOW, TRAINING IS BEING GIVEN AT THE BLOCK LEVEL STARTING FROM DOCTORS TO ASHA WORKERS.”