The state has finally received the Centre’s nod to go ahead with the proposed free ambulance service for pregnant women.
The project was proposed by the state under the 20-crore Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram(JSSK), launched a month ago by the Health Ministry.
The ambulance service entitles free transport to pregnant women to the hospital and will help bring home the mother and the newborn as well.
The state will have a call centre which will provide the ambulance service to expectant mothers. Toll-free numbers would be provided for the same. Not just ambulances, the state will also employ the services of SUVs, jeeps and boats according to the terrain and the requirement of the particular area.
“Under the programme, the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and other public health staff will keep a watch over the pregnant women in a particular area. They will be taken for regular check-ups by the health workers and the possible risk factors would be looked into. The workers will also book the ambulances whenever possible. In rare cases, especially in the remote tribal areas inaccessible to transportation, the ASHAs will take the pregnant women to a nearby primary health centre or any other health care facility a few days before the due date,” said M Beena, director, National Rural Health Mission.
The facility will be provided to pregnant women from all categories to reach any government hospital in the state. The JSSK encompasses a wide range of programmes, including free medical care for the mother and child not only during delivery but also 30 days after the delivery.
The government will also take care of all other requirements, including medicines, food, nutritional feeds and also the cost of the diagnosis and tests.