Government will conduct a gap assessment of private hospitals with pediatrics facilities in order to identify infrastructural shortcomings of the healthcare setups and provide oxygen concentrators on rent to the hospitals for tackling a possible third wave of Covid-19, health officials said
on Saturday.
In a letter addressed to the civil surgeons of all the 24 districts in Jharkhand, the National Health Mission (NHM) stated that all district administrations must hold meetings with the representatives of private hospitals within their jurisdiction and start the process of assessing the preparedness of the private healthcare facilities for a third wave of the pandemic.
The districts will have to prepare a detailed report on the number of hospitals providing pediatrics facilities, whether they have separate Covid wards or not and whether the hospitals have dedicated Pediatrics Intensive Care Units (PICUs).
During the assessment, the various districts will also have to review the availability of beds and oxygen concentrators in the private hospitals, officials said.
“The Government will provide oxygen concentrators on rent to private healthcare facilities that have pediatrics ward in case there is a demand for oxygen concentrators during a possible third wave,” said the nodal officer of health department’s Information, Education and Communication (IEC) wing, Dr Siddharth Tripathi.
Meanwhile, the NHM has also directed all the districts to ensure vaccination of sportspersons, team members and other staff participating in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic games at the earliest.
The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to begin on July 23, and sportspersons from Jharkhand have made it to the national hockey team that would be participating in the Olympics.
The State will also vaccinate truck drivers, helpers and labourers engaged in transportation of goods between India and Bangladesh via road on a priority basis following a directive from the Ministry of External Affairs, officials said.
“In adherence to a directive from the Ministry of External Affairs, we will start vaccination of truck drivers and other individuals involved in transportation of goods to Bangladesh via road,” said Dr Tripathi.
The truck drivers, Tripathi said, will be provided certificates post vaccination, which they can carry while transporting goods from India to Bangladesh.
As per a letter from the Ministry of External Affairs, the Bangladesh Government has already started vaccinating truck drivers who move to India for transporting goods and has sought similar initiatives from the Government of India.
Even though Jharkhand does not share its borders with Bangladesh, several truck drivers from the State are involved in transportation of goods to the neighbouring country, Government sources said.