Karnataka CM unveils vision document for health sector reforms

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Karnataka vision document health

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday unveiled a first of its kind ‘vision document’ that aims to lay out a long term plan for holistic development of the healthcare sector in the state on Wednesday.

Describing the event as historic, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said that the document has been prepared under the leadership of G Gururaj (chairman of Karnataka health vision group) after a year of thorough research, discussions and debates.

“A total of 250 experts have provided their inputs to prepare the document. Good practices and policies from other countries have been recorded in this document. The report includes development roadmap all the way from primary healthcare at rural areas up to tertiary care and even telemedicine. The document will also be given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by CM Bommai,” added the minister..

The announcement of the health vision document was made by the health ministry on January 02, 2021.

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The document recommends to the state government that an analysis of all the healthcare programmes launched by union and state government is required. “As the state implements nearly 75 national and state health programmes and nearly 300 health and related welfare schemes, a landscape analysis of status of implementation of all programmes, both at state and district levels, in terms of inputs, activities, progress, resources, outcomes and impact using a set of easily measurable indicators with technical assistance from state public health experts is required,” it said.

“The district administration should have a “Directory of Resources on a Digital Dashboard” to know the presence, location, availability of beds, utilisation, costs, and status of health care agencies to develop mechanisms for effective coordination as well as for sharing responsibilities in all emergencies based on good resource mapping. All health care institutions should undergo an accreditation process within the next 5 years for quality care improvement in services, teaching and training years. Most significantly, mechanisms need to be developed to decongest existing health care facilities at district, taluka and peripheral health centres,” it further recommended.

“We have witnessed an unprecedented pandemic in the past few years and doctors have been at the forefront of fighting the disease and helping Karnataka succeed in the fight against COVID-19. Doctors have been at the forefront of India’s vaccination efforts and we have been able to achieve 100% vaccination in the first and second doses because of this. I urge doctors to continue this effort to see to it that 100% coverage is also achieved in the booster dose,” Sudhakar said.

The Minister also announced that the government will open 100 new Community health Centers in North Karnataka which has not seen much development. “The foundation stone for this project will be laid within a month. We will open ‘Namma Clinics’ in urban areas that have a concentration of poor and other vulnerable sections of the society. 243 such ‘Namma Clinics’ will be opened within two months in Bengaluru,” he added.