Maharashtra Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray on Monday chaired a meeting to review the preparedness measures put in place for the third wave of the coronavirus. During the meeting, CM Thackeray asked the State Health Department to bolster the rural healthcare infrastructure as they may be impacted the worst if a third wave hits the state.
The CM also asked districts to convert the existing temporary jumbo centres into permanent buildings while building new rural health centres and identify funds under the Corporate-Social Responsibility (CSR) program to improve local health infrastructure.
“A plan should be drawn up on which facilities can be maintained permanently in the future and which ones can be upgraded,” Thackeray said during the meeting. He added that the Public Works Department (PWD) should chart out a timeline for the upgradation of rural health infrastructure.
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Additionally, the CM also asked officials to boost the production of oxygen to 3,000 MT per day from the existing 1,200 MT per day. He set an end-of-July deadline to commission Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants as well as the oxygen tankers necessary for treatment.
State Health Minister, Rajesh Tope was also present during the meeting. “We are also setting up a state dashboard. It will give us all information on oxygen, bed occupancy, medicines for each district and hospitals. We will ensure real-time data is provided by hospitals. This dashboard will be helpful in monitoring deficiency in the health system and identify where more resources are required,” Tope said.
Tope further sought the allocation of at least 5 per cent of the state’s gross revenue to bolster the health infrastructure including the appointment of new medical staff, as well as the construction of new health centres. Tope added that the current fund allocation is at 0.9 to 1 per cent of the state’s gross revenue.
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