Bihar health facilities told to be ready for crisis

The Bihar government on Friday directed all health facilities to have sufficient stock of medicines, blood, wheelchair and stretcher and to create additional space and earmark beds for sudden rush of patients, while cancelling leave of all healthcare workers in the wake of heightened security alert following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 and India's retaliatory military action against Pakistan that began on May 7.

- Ruchir Kumar

PATNA:

Pratyaya Amrit, Bihar's development commissioner, who also holds the charge of additional chief secretary, health, and disaster management department, convened a virtual meeting of all principals and superintendents of medical college and hospitals and civil surgeons in districts on Friday and shared the emergency preparedness plan and the standard operating procedure to be followed during an emergency.

As part of the plan, health facilities right from district hospitals to medical college hospitals were asked to make emergency wards functional and have dedicated beds for any exigency.

The health facilities were instructed to keep at least 10% equipment, medicines and other essential items in reserve, have enough oxygen backup, blood bags and to update the blood availability status on e-RaktKosh, ensure availability of stretchers and wheelchairs, tagging of dedicated ambulance with trained emergency medical technician to ensure timely access of affected person to identified health facility during golden hour.