To help patients and pregnant women of inaccessible areas reach the nearest hospitals or motorable roads, the Rayagada district administration has launched a new programme under which 183 remote villages would be provided with a specially-designed sling each.
Under the “Amo Doli” programme, a stretcher has been designed as a sling to carry patients smoothly and with less effort. It would replace the system of making beds into slings, officials said.
“The programme aims at helping people residing in hilly areas lacking approach roads to motorable ones. People always shift patients to hospitals. In most cases, condition of patients deteriorates by the time he/she reaches hospital as the slings are not proper,” said Rayagada district Collector Jagannath Mohanty.
The administration has identified 183 remote villages which will be provided with a sling, he said.
“The slings will be kept either at village welfare committees or with ASHA workers. After reaching the nearest motorable point, villagers can call ambulances to shift a patient to the nearest hospital,” the Collector said.
Officials said each sling costs around Rs 9,000 and the programme is being funded under the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) which is meant for Maoist-affected districts.