Health dept to launch palliative care campaign shortly: Himachal CM

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 26 (ANI): While presiding over a meeting of the Health Department here on Thursday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed to identify the eligible beneficiaries for palliative care with special focus on elderly persons requiring home-based health care, a release said.
He said that the State Government would launch a comprehensive palliative care campaign shortly, aimed at offering doorstep medical services to the elderly and patients across the State.
CM Sukhu said that ASHA workers and Community Health officers (CHOs) will identify the eligible beneficiaries, and a team comprising a medical officer, a physiotherapist from Aadarsh Swasthya Sansthan, along with CHOs, will visit the shortlisted beneficiaries to finalise the treatment plan. The identification and planning process will be completed within three months of launch.
He said that palliative and elderly care hubs would be established at Aadarsh Swasthya Sansthan, where two medical officers, two nurses, one physiotherapist and a counsellor will provide health-care services. The team will also visit the beneficiaries' homes quarterly to monitor and support them.
The Chief Minister also reviewed the Himcare and Ayushman Bharat schemes and directed the seeding of beneficiaries with the Him Parivar number. He said that new Himcare applicants will be able to apply for enrollment under the scheme quarterly, and cards to be issued in the last month of each quarter.
Additionally, the Principals of Medical Colleges and Medical Superintendents will also be empowered to recommend the issuance of Himcare cards for upto 100 critical patients within their respective hospitals.
CM Sukhu stated that the State Government would establish 49 new dialysis centres in Aadarsh Swasthya Sansthans with an estimated cost of Rs 41.62 crores.
Health Minister Col Dhani Ram Shandil, Secretary of Health M Sudha Devi, Director of Health and Family Welfare Dr Ashwani Kumar Sharma, Director of Medical Education Dr Rakesh Sharma, Special Secretary Neeraj Kumar, and other senior officers were also present at the meeting. (ANI)