Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 5 (PTI) The Keralam government will be providing 24/7 specialty care services, under the name ‘Pratheeksha Centres’, in district and general hospitals in the state to reduce unnecessary referrals to medical colleges and provide immediate access to specialist treatment close to patients’ homes.
State Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Monday said that the first such centre which was run on an experimental basis at the Punalur Taluk Hospital in Kollam district has been a success and therefore, it will be implemented in other districts of the state in phases.
Initially, the 24/7 ‘Pratheeksha Centres’ will be started by the end of October at Palakkad District Hospital, Malappuram-Tirur District Hospital, Kozhikode-Vadakara District Hospital and Ernakulam District Hospital, the minister said in a statement.
The project will be implemented on a pilot basis in various districts till December this year and the results will be evaluated before it is fully implemented at the state level, he said.
Currently, the required staff is being deployed in hospitals through temporary appointments.
Along with this, the Director of Health Department has been tasked with taking steps, like reorganising the staff pattern, making provisional promotions and providing necessary infrastructure, to address the manpower issue, the minister said.
Muraleedharan said that he has directed the hospital superintendents to ensure that the project is implemented in such a manner that there is no excessive workload on healthworkers, including doctors.
Regarding the first such centre that was started at Punalur, the minister said that the people benefited greatly from the availability of specialty services 24 hours a day near their homes.
He said that according to information received by him, referral cases from the Punalur Taluk Hospital have been reduced by 30 per cent and there has been an increase in the number of childbirths.
This was achieved by appointing three additional casualty medical officers, two gynecologists and anesthetists each and a pediatrician with the help of the National Health Mission (NHM), the minister said, adding that three more surgeons will be recruited soon.
Muraleedharan said that the aim of the project is to make two hospitals in each district as ‘Pratheeksha Centres’ and provide major specialty services like medicine, general surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics and gynecology 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
“Through this, people will be able to get round-the-clock expert treatment in government hospitals near their homes and reduce unnecessary referrals to medical colleges,” he said. PTI HMP KH
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