Capt flags off 70 IEC vans to boost rural outreach
Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday flagged off 70 Information Education and Communication (IEC) vans under the State Government’s flagship programme, ‘Tandarust Punjab Sehat Muhim’, to enhance rural outreach.
The unique state-wide mass contact-cum-awareness programme would cover all 117 assembly constituencies across the state to create awareness about various diseases and their prevention through proper healthcare and diagnostic intervention.
The Chief Minister, who was accompanied by Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, underscored his government’s focus on providing the best healthcare facilities to the people, reaching out more aggressively to those in rural areas and the remote Kandi and border areas.
He asked the Health Department to launch more such mass contact programmes in order to sensitize people towards preventive care.
The Chief Minister also asked the Health Department to ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines by maintaining sufficient stocks in advance in all the villages where the vans had been pressed into service.
The vehicles would cater to basic healthcare needs of the people residing across the state. While 13 vans had being deployed in Majha region, 14 would operate in Doaba, 43 in Malwa region and 17 in the constituencies in border districts.
The hi-tech vans, equipped with 42-inch LED television screens, public address systems and elevated platform as makeshift dais, would have experts interacting with the masses to educate them on health issues, besides showing awareness films.
The campaign is the biggest outreach activity of the department, initiated by National Health Mission with the support of different wings of Health and Family Welfare, that is the Directorate of Health Services, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, PHSC and PSACS.
Officers of the level of District Family Welfare Officers or Senior Medical Officers of each district have been designated as Nodal Officers of Tandurust Punjab Sehat Muhim under the overall supervision of respective Civil Surgeons, the Health Minister informed Captain Amarinder.
Mohindra said that the vehicles would be flagged off in the field areas by concerned MLAs and Deputy Commissioners, who would review the progress of the campaign on daily basis, besides guiding the medical teams to ensure optimum utilization of this special healthcare programme.
Each vehicle will cover minimum eight to 10 locations per day and stop at the biggest village among these locations. Each district will have a detailed micro-plan or route plan, along with the details and contact numbers of members of medical teams and other para medical or support staff members on duty, he said.
Director Health Services Dr Jaspal Kaur said that basic laboratory tests like (HB, BP, Random Blood Sugar, Blood Slide for MP, Sputum for AFB, Visual acuity, Near vision (RE/LE) will be conducted on the spot. “Free medicines like Paracetamol, Antibiotics like Amoxycillin etc will be given to the patients. Those requiring further treatment shall be referred to the nearest Government health facility. A proper follow-up of the patients visiting camp shall be done,” she said.
The monitoring and feedback mechanism about the movement of the vans and medical camps will be maintained online through specially devised software. A Control Room will monitor day-to-day progress of these 70 vans and capture important data related to key parameters like number of OPDs, medicines, male or female, age, sex and number of people attending IEC or BCC activities.
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