At a time when various Ministries are offering largesse to the flood-affected victims in Uttarakhand, the Union Health Ministry has done its bit by sending a team of just six doctors with an aim to provide medical treatment to the stranded people in the calamity-stricken areas of the Northern State.
A team comprising two psychiatrists each from Bangalore-based Nimhans, cardiologists from RMl Hospital in Delhi and physicians from Safdarjung Hospital has been asked to visit the rain-ravaged Uttarakhand.
“It means that just two teams of the experts would be available for rescue operations. How much they would contribute is everybody’s guess in case they work shift wise,” admitted a senior official in the Health Ministry.
It has also dispatched three trucks of medicines for fever, anti-inflammatory and IV fluids for the. The order was issued on Friday. Earlier, the Ministry had sent three each epidemiologists and microbiologists to access the situation in the area where contamination threat looms large.
In fact, a look at the Government website (PIB) shows that when compared to aids and monetary help offered by various Ministries as, the Health Ministry headed by Ghulam Nabi Azad has except reviewing the health-related issues in the rain-ravaged Uttarakhand, is yet to come forward to provide a
significant aid to the State.
On Saturday, Azad spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and inquired him about the healthcare situation in the disaster-hit State. He also held a meeting with the officials of his Ministry to discuss the steps to be taken after the flood waters recede in the hill State.
As a part of its CSR, Delhi-based hospital group, Fortis Healthcare on Saturday sent doctors and medical supplies to flood-affected Uttarakhand for relief operations, said a statement here. Fortis Healthcare, through the Fortis Foundation, has sent over a ton of emergency medicines and a team of 18 doctors, nurses, paramedics and support staff as part of project Fortis SEWA to provide relief to victims in the calamity-stricken areas of Uttarakhand, it added.