BELAGAVI: Health and Family Welfare Minister K R Ramesh Kumar has written to the chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council stating that the government is planning to upgrade the healthcare facilities in rural areas.
The idea is to establish Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in all taluk HQs as several patients with heart ailments are being admitted to various cardiac hospitals in big cities. The government now plans to take quality healthcare to rural level by bringing full-fledged ICUs at all 147 taluka HQs. Each unit will have three beds with ventilator facilities.
The entire project will be coordinated by the Jayadeva Institute of Heart Sciences, Bengaluru. The proposed ICUs will also have telemedicine facilities which will be linked to Jayadeva Institute where expert cardiologists will monitor treatment.
Reading the letter at the ongoing winter session in the council, Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy said that Chairman of Jayadeva Institute C N Manjunath has estimated that each ICU will cost around Rs 27 lakh and funding may be raised from local MLA and MP Area Development Funds. “While MLAs can contribute Rs 15 lakh and MPs can fund up to Rs 5 lakh. The Deputy Commissioners will write to elected representatives in this regard. The remaining Rs 7 lakh will be funded by the central government under Arogya Abhiyan scheme. The centre has already given its nod for the project,” he said.