Mangalore, Jul 13: The primary aim of the health department is to focus more on the preventive side of diseases rather than their cure, said Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader.
Interacting with mediapersons in 'Meet the press' programme organised at Press club, Urwa here on Saturday, he said that Rs 9 crore had been sanctioned by the government to provide chemotherapy for cancer patients at District Wenlock and Lady Goschen hospitals. For early detection of cancer, free check-up centres will soon be set up in the state, he said.
After a bitter experience this year, preventive measures to check the spread of deadly and contagious diseases such as dengue will be undertaken right from January in all the districts in the state, he said.
'Rural service mandatory for medicos'
Mr Khader said that he Karnataka Compulsory Service Training by Candidates Completed Medical Courses Bill, 2012, had been approved by the Legislative Assembly and soon would be made into an Act, which makes one-year rural service mandatory for all medicos in the state, failing which they would not be eligible for permanent registration. This would help in solving the problem of severe shortage of doctors in rural areas, he said.
'Aim to make the country anaemia-free'
With the view of wiping out anaemia in the future, a national-level programme will be launched where supplementary iron-folic acid tablets would be provided weekly to children in all government schools in each district in the state. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad would launch this national-level programme on July 17 in Bangalore, he said.
'Nagu Magu Yojane'
He said that through 'Nagu Magu Yojane', the department would soon implement facilities to transport mothers and new-born babies safely back home from hospitals after delivery.
He said that the government was keen on implementing several schemes in the healthcare sector which would benefit people. The facilities of ICUs and ventilators will be made available at taluk levels in each district, and generic drugs will be provided to underprivileged patients at taluk and district levels at a very low cost, he said.
Similarly, the toll-free Healthcare Information Helpline '104' could be availed by people to obtain information about their ailments and treatment over the phone, and this could also be used to lodge complaints about negligence or non-cooperation of doctors in hospitals and clinics. This can be also availed to obtain district-wise data on major diseases and number of affected patients, he said.
Facilities will be made to provide free sanitary napkins to adolescent girls, especially those in rural areas, in view of better sanitation and hygiene.
Halt on scanning centres in Endosulfan-hit areas
With regard to pulling the plug on free ultrasound scanning centres for pregnant women to spot foetal deformities in Endosulfan-affected areas, he clarified that the scanning centres had not sought or obtained permission either from the District Health Officer or the Deputy Commissioner, due to which the scanning had to be discontinued. “However, if the forums come forward to apply for permission to continue the scanning in an authorised way, we will extend complete support to them,” he told mediapersons.
He, however, remained evasive when the topic of the Netravati river diversion project was broached by mediapersons. The previous government has already given a go-ahead to the project, he said.
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