State to ensure health benefits for 2-14 yr olds under NRHM phase II

Officials of the state NRHM unit met Government of India officials last week to discuss the first draft of the state PIP and recommendations for the programme for children came up at the meeting,said Mukesh Meshram,Mission Director,NRHM.

The programme will be an extension of the Saloni Swasthya Yojana,which targets adolescent girls and is already implemented in the state under NRHM. In the new programme,boys and girls of age group 2-14 will be targeted and the health department will work with related departments to ensure health benefits to these children. The programme will include children at brick kilns and construction sites.

The three focus areas of the programme will include identification of disabilities,deficiencies and diseases among these children. Each child will have a health card made and appropriate treatment will be provided to them depending on the diagnosis. For rehabilitation of disabilities,the health department will enlist the disability department,said Meshram. At the grassroot level,the gram pradhans,Asha workers,Anganwadi workers as well as ANMs will be implementing the programme.

A total of 1,000 basic ambulances are proposed to be procured for this programme. A dedicated health team,including a doctor,paramedical staff and a driver,will be deployed in all 823 blocks. The teams will be given one ambulance each and will visit villages in their block on roster basis.

Once the Emergency Medical Transport Services are implemented,the department will link the programme to the 108 emergency services,Meshram said.

To cut down neo-natal and infant mortality,the government is opening 21 sick newborn care units in district hospitals,apart from seven such units already functional. These units have ventilator facilities for neonates. A total of 850 centres across the state will also have a newborn care corner,which includes a baby warmer,an oxygen hood and suction machine for neonates. Fifty-four newborn stabilisation units are also proposed in First Referral Units (FRU) which will have phototherapy machines in addition to equipment available in newborn corners.

The government has decided to give Ashas an incentive of Rs 200 per case to bring infants delivered at home to hospitals,said Meshram.

To bring down maternal mortality rate,another change in the PIP suggested by the Government of India is the implementation of Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) to all the 141 FRUs as well as 841 24×7 CHCs and PHCs in the state. The JSSK provides free medicines and consumables,food up to Rs 100 per day and drop-back facilities to pregnant ladies who come for institutional delivery.

The state NRHM will start a toll-free number to address complaints regarding JSSK and Janani Suraksha Yojana,said Meshram.

NRHM scam: PSU MD gets bail

LUCKNOW: A local court of CBI on Wednesday granted bail to NRHM scam accused GK Batra,managing director of the state government-owned public unit UP PSU Shreeton India Ltd. The court has asked to deposit two securities of Rs one lakh each. The bail was granted by Special Judge (CBI) JP Singh. The agency had arrested Batra on January 7 this year in the case of financial irregularities in the purchase of computers for hospitals across the state and the CMO offices under the NRHM scheme. He was lodged in Lucknow district jail. Earlier,the agency had registered a case against Batra and the owners of two private firms — Axis Marketing Ltd of Delhi and Noida and Radheyshyam Enterprises of Lucknow — on January 2. A CBI official said that the State Health Society had allotted work of procurement of 951 computers to Shreeton India Ltd and released Rs 8 crore. The computers had to be installed at the offices of the district health societies across the state. During inquiry,it was found that the PSU did not follow norms while awarding contract to Axis India Ltd and Radheyshyam Enterprises. The firms quoted exorbitant rates for computers,and were paid in advance which caused a loss of Rs 2.78 to the exchequer. Chargesheet has been filed against Batra.