Connectivity issues have halted the Uttarakhand government’s much acclaimed Telemedicine service for the pilgrims at Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines. The medical health and family welfare department is now planning to shift the telemedicine equipment from Badrinath shrine to Joshimath. The nodal officer for the scheme in the state, Dr K S Martolia accepted that the connectivity issues are being faced in Badrinath and Kedarnath. He however added that the services would be available in Joshimath as the department has got a dedicated connection. The health department is making consistent claims that it has made all preparations for the Char Dham Yatra is starting from May 7.
It is worth mentioning here that the ‘Telemedicine Service’, is one of the dream projects of the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat meant to provide services of specialist doctors for the people of the remote mountainous areas of the state.
On CM Rawat’s initiative, equipment of telemedicine equipment have been installed in four Community Health Centres (CHC), two each in Garhwal and Kumaon divisions. The service has become functional in CHC Okhlakanda (Nainital), CHC Bhikiyasain (Almora), CHC Naugaon ( Tehri) and CHC Agastyamuni ( Rudraprayag). The service is installed in these CHCs under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme of HPEIL Company by which they are connected to Srinagar Medical College. However due to issues like poor connectivity and lack of a system in place, very few patients in these CHCs are actually availing the benefits.
Dr Martolia said that the studios in Srinagar and Doon Medical College have been set up for the service. He claimed that a total 4500 patients so far have availed the benefit of the services in the four CHCs.
Meanwhile the health department appears to have come out of its long slumber on the neglected studio of the telemedicine service installed at the Government Doon Medical College hospital.
This equipment had turned out to be a mere showpiece in absence of lack of will on part of the officials to implement the ‘Telemedicine service’. The deputy Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital Dr N S Khatri said that the studio would now be used for the services of char dham pilgrims. He said that the doctors on duty would provide their service on the studio.
Telemedicine service is used to overcome the barrier of distance by use of Information Technology to provide medical services to patients located in far flung areas. A studio of Telemedicine includes a monitor, high resolution cameras, speakers attached to Doctor’s chair.