BENGALURU: Doctors on the state government’s expert panel tasked with overhauling health care in the state, spoke to The New Indian Express on improving cardiac and trauma care.The Karnataka government had announced the Vision Group on January 1, to look into the comprehensive development of the health sector in the state. Headed by Dr G Gururaj of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences, the group has come up with suggestions for trauma and cardiac care. The group, is to submit its report in six months.
Dr Pradeep Rangappa, consultant, intensive care, at Columbia Asia Hospital, who is on the trauma care sub-committee, told TNIE that tele-medicine could be used to provide specialised care in districts and rural areas where doctors and nurses may not be trained in intensive care. “Tele-medicine was used during the pandemic in a rudimentary fashion and it needs to be strengthened, to have a digital command centre to including private and government health centres. Specialists in Bengaluru can virtually aid smaller district and taluk hospitals in cardiology, oncology, neurology, etc, and even bring down deaths,” Dr Rangappa said, adding that it could be monetised within the private sector.
Another member of the trauma care sub-committee, Dr Vidyadhara S, consultant spine surgeon at Manipal Hospitals, said that screening for non-communicable diseases could be set up at primary health centres and anganwadis by checking sugar, blood pressure levels and other indicators. “Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) screening programmes should be held in schools. It goes unnoticed as there is no pain. If detected before it reaches 25 degrees, it can be treated with a belt,” Dr Vidyadhara S told TNIE.
He called for a helpline for accidents on highways, as currently, people with multiple fractures end up going to nursing homes or small health centres where health professionals cannot spot or treat spine injuries. “In these smaller centres, a person’s limbs get fixed but they are unable to walk. Highway health centres need to be educated to perform spinal X-ray and refer the patient to a higher centre and not treat them as limb fractures can wait, unless they are amputations. A helpline in such a case will direct the ambulance driver to the right doctor and hospital,” he added.
He also suggested that the state government create a catalogue of health centres which offer complicated surgeries so that patients know where to go for treatment for conditions such as scoliosis, liver transplant, and bone marrow transplant.Dr Vivek Jawali, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon at Fortis Hospitals, who is a member of the cardiac care sub-committee, suggested bringing heart transplants under the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka scheme and that rates of compensation to private hospitals under the scheme for complicated heart surgeries be revised.
“We must improve budgetary allocation for health. A simple smartphone can help implement tele-medicine and can establish collaboration between public and private facilities. This way, we can also reach interior areas and it will be a learning opportunity for staff at district medical colleges,” Dr Jawali.
Protocol for heart failure must be established to bring about uniformity in medical management and avoid repeat hospitalisation, Dr C N Manjunath, director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, and member of the cardiac care sub-group, told TNIE.“Physicians and general practitioners should be sensitised to heart failure. Also, a hub and spoke model must be established for heart attack management within the golden period of 3-6 hours,” Dr Manjunath said.