New Delhi: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said that the government will soon create a robust health support and emergency management infrastructure for the pilgrims going on the Cham Dham Yatra.
“There will be a three-tier structure to ensure that pilgrims are provided with medical attention during their journey,” he said after a meeting with Uttarakhand Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat.
Rawat had sought the support of the central government to develop health and emergency infrastructure for the lakhs of pilgrims who visit Char Dham every year from Mandaviya.
Mandaviya assured full support from the government and said that, “Best possible health care and health emergency infrastructure will be provided for the visiting pilgrims.”
The minister informed that a strong network of advance ambulances and stroke vans is being planned to ensure that stroke management and treatment can begin on the way to a health facility. He said that these ambulances would be stationed at various points along the yatra route.
PG students from medical colleges across the country are proposed to be deployed as part of the robust healthcare infrastructure, who will act as first responders. “This experience will also serve as a skill and capacity building exercise for the PG students,” Mandaviya elaborated.
Apart from this, drones will be used to provide emergency medicines in high altitude areas of the journey. Recently drones have been successfully used to transport COVID19 vaccines in the North Eastern region. Recently, AIIMS-Rishikesh has started a drone service for delivery and collection of medicines.
“A robust referral back-end system is being developed with AIIMS Rishikesh, Doon Medical College and Srinagar Medical Colleges acting as tertiary nodes for specialist care. It will provide complete clinical treatment for the health of the pilgrims.”
These measures will be supported with citizen friendly communication and awareness activities such as website/portal to inform pilgrims about weather conditions, importance of adaptation, location of health facilities along the way, call center numbers, pre-travel screening , emergency help number, etcetera.
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