Strategic interventions showing positive results as AES mortality rate has come down, says Health Minister

“The strategic interventions made by the Health Ministry have started paying off and are showing positive results as the mortality rate has come down significantly,” Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare stated this as he continues to review the status of AES cases of Bihar with senior officers of the Health Ministry.

A round the clock point-of-care testing facility has been set up in SKMCH to monitor vital parameters such as blood gases, electrolytes, lactate etc. of the children. “This facility is being further strengthened by deployment of biochemist and technicians from the Central Government Hospitals in Delhi,” Dr Harsh Vardhan added.

Dr Harsh Vardhan further elaborated that the diagnostics have been strengthened in the PICU. It will have a portable X - ray with CR digital to access the report immediately within the ICU. The CSF reports in PICU have also been operationalised. Portable USG and ECHO set up for PICU is also fully functional round the clock. The 15- member Central Team of doctors and para-medics providing medical care will be replaced by a team with similar strength for further ten days ensuring continuity of care of admitted cases. It will oversee and support the State government efforts for management of AES cases at SKMCH.

Dr Harsh Vardhan said that the multi-disciplinary team deployed by Department of Health Research will continue to work on varied aspects of research concerning acute encephalopathy syndrome (AES)... (PIB, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 25th June, 2019)

Healthcare News Monitor

Muzaffarpur doctors pool in money for security team

India Today

Healthcare services were affected across the country earlier this month after doctors went on a strike in protest against an attack on one of their colleagues. Long before this, doctors in Muzaffarpur polled in money and hired quick-reaction teams (QRT) for their security. "Around 60 doctors have set up QRT for their safety and to stop the violence. We have been deployed at three places in the city," a member of one of such teams was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. This comes at a time when over 100 people have died of encephalitis in Bihars Muzaffarpur. While bigger hospitals have their own teams to ensure security, smaller clinics pooled funds to hire QRTs. These security teams include gunmen and bodybuilders who are available call 24x7, The Times of India reported. Dr CB Singh of the Indian Medical Association in Motihari told the daily that doctors took the step as the cops are already overburdened with their primary duties. "How can they save a doctor who is being attacked? They often come after the incident when the clinic has been vandalised or the doctor was beaten up," Dr Singh was quoted as saying by the daily. Muzaffarpur, a major medical hub for patients across north Bihar, hogged national and international headlines after more than 100 children died due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).

Apollo Hospitals Group collaborates with IMA’s Woman Doctors Wing for Organ Donation Drive Across India

Medical Dialogues

Goa: To make people aware about the importance and benefits of organ donation, Apollo Hospitals recently announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Woman Doctors Wing of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to drive Organ Donation across the country. The first organ transplant in India was conducted in the 1970s and it was a kidney transplant. Over four decades later, more than 5,00,000 people across the country die each year due to non-availability of organs. The challenges pertaining to organ donation include an interplay of sociocultural factors, beliefs and superstitions, lack of communication and organizational support. Under the terms of the MoU, Apollo Hospitals would work with the IMA Woman Doctors Wing to promote organ donation among the general public and put across the message of the importance of organ donation in saving lives using various platforms. he demand for organs outstrips supply in almost every country of the world, and for patients with organ failure, the wait for an organ can be measured in years. India’s organ donation rate is one of the lowest in the World with only 0.8 per Ten lakh (10,00,000) people opting to donate their organs. “There is a wide gap in the requirement and availability of organs in the country. Over one lakh (1,00,000) people die of liver diseases in the country with only one thousand (1,000) people getting a liver transplant. Over two lakh twenty thousand (2,20,000) people are awaiting kidney transplants with only 15,000 people able to get a kidney transplant,” said Mrs. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals.

2,000 medicinal plants in endangered species: Experts

The Times of India

Around 2,000 medicinal plants are in the endangered species in the state. Growing population, climate change and over exploitation are the major reasons for endangering medicinal plants in Rajasthan, according to experts. Payal Lodha, associate professor of Botany department in Rajasthan University, says that plants which were readily available around Jaipur 20 years back have become difficult to locate in the state now. “There was a time when a field trip just around the city was enough to find most of the medicinal plants in the area. Now, our students have to go inside the forest areas and talk to the local communities to get hold of the plants they are researching for. These plants are mentioned in ancient scriptures and are used by the local communities in rural areas,” said Lodha. The conservation of these medicinal plants has become an important issue for the people of the state. Riddhu Palawat, a botany lecturer who has done her PhD on Ceropegia attenuata and Ceropegia bulbosa plant from Rajasthan University, claimed that this plant can be used in anti-cancer medicines. Riddhu says that there is no data provided but they have done enough study on proper usage of these medicinal plants.

Uttarakhand hospitals to be penalised over Rs 1 cr for irregularities in Ayushman Bharat scheme

The Hindu Business Line- Maitri Porecha

In at least 697 cases of irregularities in the government-run cashless health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat, in Uttarakhand, 11 hospitals are in the process of being slapped with a penalty of over Rs 1.17 crore. Uttarakhands Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana (AAUY) Scheme, run under the aegis of Ayushman Bharat, has been riddled with irregularities. After the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan sought to know the action taken by National Health Authority (NHA) to correct the irregularities, the latter submitted a detailed report to the Minister’s office on Tuesday. BusinessLine has accessed a copy of the report. In Uttarakhand it is mandatory for a patient to get a ‘referral slip,’ from a government-run primary health centre (PHC) or a hospital before seeking admission in a private hospital. “A nexus between government and private doctors was taking advantage of this process. We received complaints from certain beneficiaries, who said that there was a delay in issuance of referral slips, and that the errant doctors may have demanded pecuniary benefits for issuing referrals under the AAUY,” a NHA official said.