For the benefit of pregnant women and sick infants, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) will operate 24x7 Free Referral Transportation (FRT) facilities in the State, said Minister of Health & family Welfare Damodar Rout.
Rout while chairing the NRHM annual executive body meeting here said that under the Janani Sishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), the facility would be available from home to institutions and drop back home. NRHM Director Roopa Mishra and Principal Secretary, Health & FW Pradipta K Mahapatra were present at the meeting.
The Minister said Integrated Call Centres would be set up and a prudent mix of basic level ambulances fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) would be pressed into service.
Under the NRHM Programme Implementation Plan (PIP) 2013-14, this is one of the key conditionality prescribed by the Union Government, said an official.
In order to ensure free referral transport services for all pregnant women and sick neonates, 462 Janani Expresses are being engaged in the PPP mode in the State since 2008.
However, the cost effectiveness and coverage of the Janani Express is not very encouraging due to absence of a centralised call centre, non-availability of GPS and poor management due to large number vehicles engaged at the district level.
The coverage never reached 60 per cent and drop back is 40 per cent. And in many cases, the average patient transport per month is less than 20, admitted an official.
The new facility is pressed into service to provide cent percent services to women during pregnancy, delivery and after delivery and sick infants through Mother & Child Tracking System (MCTS), said he.
Under this programme, at least 102 centralised call centres will be set up to cover 500 basic ambulances to take care of transportation of pregnant women and sick infants.