Haryana Health and Home Minister Anil Vij said that 20 vehicles of ‘Dial 112’ would be deployed as ambulances in all the districts to address the Covid exigencies in Haryana. While presiding over the meeting of the State-level Covid Monitoring Committee, Vij said that this step would enable critical patients to reach the hospitals on time.
To address the shortage of medical staff, Anil Vij said that the MBBS and final year PG students studying in medical colleges will also be deputed, so that the patients do not face any problems in the hospitals. Moreover, government employees of the state who are suffering from Covid-19 would be provided with the facility of cashless treatment in private hospitals.
The Health Minister further stated that the government is taking concrete steps to ensure the availability of oxygen to all the needy patients in the state. Haryana currently requires 270 MT of oxygen, while it is getting only 162 MT of oxygen from the Centre. “A request has been made by the State Government to the Central Government to increase the current oxygen supply quantity to 270 MT,” Vij said.
Moreover, all big industries have been directed to convert industrial oxygen into medical oxygen to meet the needs of the state.
“To overcome the shortage of oxygen cylinders in the state,” Vij said, “industries would have to deposit their cylinders with the concerned Deputy Commissioners, otherwise, their cylinder stocks would be seized.”
“Besides this, the police will also keep a close vigil on the movement of oxygen tankers and the supply process” he added.
The Home Minister further stated that all the private and government hospitals of the state have been directed to set up their own oxygen plants so that oxygen shortage can be avoided in the future.
Deputy Commissioners have been directed to make arrangements of the additional beds in their districts, said Vij. The use of vacant halls, schools, dharamshalas, and support from social organizations ‘would be taken’.
Anil Vij stated that programmes of senior doctors, who know about tackling Covid-19, will be telecasted on local TV channels and cable networks. In these programmes, people would be informed about Covid protocols and precautions to keep themselves safe. Besides this, physicians will also share procedures which patients need to follow for their treatment.