Considering substantial number of COVID-19 patients recuperating in home isolation, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has directed states to focus on expanding as much as possible the reach of teleconsultation services to provide timely healthcare.
He interacted with health ministers, senior bureaucrats and administrators of nine states and union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, Ladakh and Uttar Pradesh, according to a statement from the health ministry.
Mandaviya urged them to adopt the hub and spoke model and open additional teleconsultation centres. This will enable beneficiaries to access advice from experts stationed at district hubs, it said.
He said the government’s eSanjeevani telemedicine system has provided services to more than 2.6 crore beneficiaries where people can seek medical advice from the confines of their homes.
“This will prove to be a game-changer and will be of immense value and importance for the hard-to-reach and far-flung areas, and especially in the northern regions in the current winter season,” he highlighted.
“States and union territories need to ensure that these centres work 24X7 and ensure convenience for both the common public and health experts. To ensure minimum hassle and travelling, such expert advice can be provided at the block levels, secondary or primary health centre levels too,” the official communique stated quoting Mandaviya.
He advised the states and union territories to ensure that those in home isolation are efficiently monitored in line with the national guidelines. This will ensure that the vulnerable categories of active cases in home isolation get the required medical help in a timely manner, the statement said.
