BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday, December 20, 2021, launched the Mukhyamantri Vayu Swasthya Seva (air ambulance service) at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here to provide health services to people of remote and backward areas of the State.
In the first phase, the free service will be available for people of four districts Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Nuapada. Launching the initiative, the Chief Minister said that people of these districts will now get improved health services. The scheme will benefit people from weaker sections of the society and bridge the gap in healthcare services.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das said that if required, critical patients will be airlifted to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. A team of doctors including a cardiologist and urologist took the inaugural flight to Malkangiri to treat patients who were selected through tele-consultation earlier.
Neurologists, nephrologists, cardiologists from medical colleges and corporate hospitals, mainly in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, will be flown to the four district headquarters hospitals where diagnostic facilities and operation theatres have been set up for offering specialised care to patients.