No leave for health personnel in four districts for hockey World Cup

BHUBANESWAR: Healthcare personnel will not be allowed to avail of routine leave during the hockey World Cup in Khurda, Cuttack, Sundargarh and Jharsuguda districts. The state government has asked chief district medical and public health officers of the four districts and directors of Capital Hospital and Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) not to allow the required health personnel to avail of routine leave during the tournament period unless there is an extraordinary situation.

As decided at a meeting chaired by health secretary Shalini Pandit, all UPHCs and UCHCs in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela will have the facility for rapid antigen test and swab collection for RT-PCR with clear signage on a walk-in testing facility for Covid-19.

The authorities have been directed to keep beds earmarked in the health facilities in these districts. While 50 beds each will be kept in Capital Hospital and RGH, 20 beds each will be earmarked in Sundargarh and Jharsuguda district headquarters hospital and Unit-IV UCHC. The UCHC at Patia will keep 10 beds.

All the UCHCs and UPHCs in these four cities will be in readiness during match time to function as emergency OPD with facilities to handle the additional patient load. First-aid centres will be made operational at the allotted spaces in Kalinga Stadium and Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium.

“All health facilities from Sundargarh to Rourkela and Jharsuguda to Rourkela will be kept in readiness for emergency trauma care management. CDMOs of Jharsuguda and Sundargarh have been asked to make plans accordingly with required specialists, paramedics and consumables,” said Pandit.

The CDMOs have been directed to mobilise manpower from within the districts and alert the director of health services for additional manpower. A treatment centre will be set up at Jharsuguda airport with required specialists and other staff to meet the emergency during flights landing and take off.