CUTTACK: In what would come as a boon to people with haemophilia (PWH), the State Government has decided to make life saving blood factors VIII and IX available at CHCs and PHCs which have a high number of patients.
The objective is to ensure that patients get the factors at their nearest hospital and do not have to travel far to district headquarters hospitals (DHHs) or medical colleges for treatment. Steps would be taken to identify the regions which require availability of blood factors at grassroots facilities on the basis of patient strength, Health and Family Welfare Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said.
The Minister, who attended the World Haemophilia Awareness programme at SCB Medical College and Hospital on Sunday, said the day care centre here will be upgraded into a centre of excellence for providing training to doctors and paramedical staff from peripheral institutions on handling and administration of factors.
Steps will also be taken to recruit more doctors and nurses in the four day care units at three medical colleges and Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar to provide round the clock services for treatment of blood diseases. Currently, blood factors VIII and IX are provided to patients at the three medical college and hospitals, Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar and the DHHs at Balasore, Bhadrak and Baripada. As per estimates, there are around 500 PWHs registered but the actual number of patients could surpass 5,000. Patients have been registered from 23 districts.
The Government should make the factors available in 23 districts in immediate period and then proceed to the CHCs and PHCs where patients are more in number. Immediate administration of blood factors will not only save lives but also prevent disabilities in patients. As haemophilia causes unchecked bleeding, time lost in travelling to tertiary care institutions can have serious repercussions, spokesperson of Haemophilia Society Chittaranjan Das said.
Director of Medical education and Training Prof PC Mohapatra, Superintendent SCBMCH Prof Pratap Rath, local MLA Pravat Biswal and Head of Clinical Haematology Prof RK Jena spoke.