THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To manage the Covid-19 situation, the health department is planning to bring in certain changes in the functioning of Covid First-Line Treatment Centres (CFLTCs). CFLTCs which are meant for managing positive cases that are asymptomatic and fall under category A will be equipped to admit and treat category B patients also. However, it will be limited to select CFLTCs with adequate facilities. At the same time, taking a cue from some recent incidents where treatment to the eligible got delayed, it has been decided to set up a programme management support unit (PMSU) in each district.
Through this, the department plans to ensure timely medical attention to those arriving at healthcare facilities for Covid and non-Covid related illness. “Both the proposals have been approved by principal secretary (health) Rajan Khobragade. The structures set up at field level and strategies need to be dynamic and adapted as per the need of the situation. The change in CFLTCs as treatment centres shall be informed at the appropriate time after studying the epidemic and the situation,” said a health department officer.
PMSU at district level
In the case of PMSUs to be formed at the district level, they will help route patients who require admissions to various hospitals. It will also help coordinate referrals among health institutions based on IT-enabled real-time information of bed occupancy status in all hospitals.
“PMSU leads to efficient management of infrastructure, prevent delays, avert panic, ensure proper care to every citizen based on clinical requirement and reduce mortality due to Covid and non-Covid illness. PMSU will monitor the real-time and accurate status of beds, ICUs, ventilators of public and private hospitals through e- Jagratha or similar IT-enabled system” added the officer.While the district-level PMSU will operate under the chairmanship of respective district collectors, a state-level PMSU will also be there for overall monitoring, headed by National Health Mission, state director Rathan Kelkar.
Category B: 1,000 beds in some CFLTCs
As per the proposal, directives will be issued to each district to identify a few CFLTCs which could be upgraded to a higher level of clinical management at a later stage. In such CFLTCs, a total of 1,000 beds will be earmarked to manage category B. It has been stipulated that while selecting such CFLTCs, it will be ensured that they are near Covid Hospitals so that referral mechanism won’t take much time in case of emergency. “The identified CFLTCs will be upgraded to Higher Clinical Grade CFLTC. Districts have been asked to equip identified CFLTC in this group by capacity building especially in critical care and planning for logistics,” states the proposal.