BHUBANESWAR: In a huge boon to healthcare facilities for elderly in the State, the Centre has chosen SCB Medical College and Hospital for establishment of a Regional Geriatric Centre.
The Regional Centre will be the apex referral centre for geriatric healthcare in the State as well as offer post-graduation and diploma courses in geriatry to churn out a pool of specialised manpower in the field. It will also be an institute to lead research in the field of geriatry.
The decision to establish the advanced centre was announced by the Centre during a review of National Programme for Healthcare for Elderly (NPHE) implementation across States of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattishgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha by a high-level team under Additional Secretary, Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry Aroon Panda.
While rating Odisha top among the States in terms of implementation of NPHE, the Ministry also declared to facilitate implementation of the programme in all the districts in next two years.
The team appreciated the progress made by the State in five districts where the programme is being implemented comprising Koraput, Malkangiri, Balangir, Nabarangpur and Nuapada.
Under the programme, 10-bed geriatric ward, a physiotherapy unit and speciality OPD clincs for the elderly have been set up in the five districts offering holistic care to patients.