Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to launch new ambulances in revamped '108' service

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will launch new ambulances in the revamped 108 ambulance service on Thursday, as announced by the Health Department in its review meeting on Wednesday. 

With an addition of 262 ambulances — 157 of which are Basic Life Support Ambulances and the remaining are Advanced Life Support Ambulances, which have portable ventilators and defibrillators, besides an emergency medical technician and a pilot — the fleet will increase to 715 ambulances under the 108 ambulance services. 

Speaking at a review meeting covering the Health department’s main activities over the past six months on Wednesday, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao highlighted the department’s progress in improving ambulance services, dialysis, vaccinations and brain and heart disease treatments. 

He said that new dialysis centres were set up in 46 taluks, bringing the statewide total to 219 centres, besides finalising the tenders for the installation of 800 single-use dialysis machines being installed in a PPP model, in hospitals across the state. 

The department is also providing five new CT and 15 MRI scanning machines in its project to expand services to all districts. 

Puneeth Rajkumar Hrudaya Jyoti Yojane, a programme to prevent sudden heart attacks, will include AI-based screening for patients with chest pain and free Tenecteplase injections at taluk hospitals for those with suspected cases of sudden cardiac arrest. 

The department is also preparing a proposal to honour people signing up to become organ donors for transplants, besides setting up a grievance redress and telemedicine system. 

Tenders have been finalised and work orders for Shuchi Yojane, which aims to provide free sanitary napkins to school girls in government and aided schools, at a total project cost of Rs 40.5 crore, are being issued. 

A total of Rs 1,079.29 crore has been sanctioned for the treatment of 16,79,433 cases under the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka scheme. To date, 1.55 crore cards have been registered on the official website. 

Under the Asha Kiran Yojane, implemented in eight districts in the first phase, 21,452 people have undergone cataract surgery, while about 1.31 lakh people are set to obtain spectacles for better vision. 

Under Karnataka’s brain health programme, the Cabinet has approved the establishment of brain health clinics in 31 districts and one in BBMP limits. The department is also implementing a pilot new contraceptives namely Subdermal Single Rod Implant in Bengaluru and Bidar and Subcutaneous Injection Antara in Yadgir and Mysuru. 

No panic for influenza 

The Health minister assured that while there is no reason for panic regarding cases of seasonal influenza, the government is taking precautionary measures such as conducting mock drills at hospitals for ventilators, PPE kits, masks, beds, and oxygen kits, and instructing hospitals to test patients with symptoms of influenza-like illnesses.