BHUBANESWAR: Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling has suggested to explore ways to open a Biomedical Engineering and Instrumentation department under the National Health Mission (NHM) in the state.
Reviewing the activities of NHM earlier this week, Mahaling said hospitals require more sophisticated instruments and technologies that assist doctors to diagnose, perform surgeries and take care of patients’ post-surgery complications. “The fusion of medicine and engineering has become indispensable in modern day healthcare. The Biomedical Engineering and Instrumentation discipline will be a useful addition for design and development of innovative medical technologies,” he said.
The health sector in Odisha witnessed significant growth with the addition of eight new medical colleges in the last five years. As the healthcare needs grew manifold driving demands for skilled professionals, the minister said, courses like biomedical engineering can help innovate and implement cutting-edge medical technologies and equip professionals with skills to address complex healthcare challenges.
Mahaling asked health officials to take steps to drastically reduce ambulance response time. He said ambulances functioning under 108 fleet must reach the patients in a maximum of 15 minutes. As decided earlier, around 300 ambulances will be added to the existing 108 fleet every year and replace the old vehicles with advanced ones. The ambulances will be operated free of cost under emergency medical ambulance service (EMAS-108). The Health department had last year added 349 ambulances to the 108 fleet taking the total strength to 1,366.
The health minister also directed to fill up the vacant posts managed by NHM at the earliest and simplify the process of healthcare delivery by using information and technology. He also laid stress on 24×7 operational and cleanliness of CHCs across the state.
He reviewed ongoing activities under Janani Surakhya Yojana, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission and Ayushman Arogya Mandir.
