Mumbai: Under fire over the deaths of children in Gorakhpur, the Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) health department has sought assistance from the Maharashtra government to implement its schemes.
A delegation led by U.P. Health Minister Siddharthnath Singh on Friday met his Maharashtra counterpart, Deepak Sawant, to learn about various health schemes of the Maharashtra government and the steps being taken to minimise maternal and infant mortality.
Among the schemes presented to the U.P. team were telemedicine, motorbike ambulances, blood on call, the proposed Balasaheb Thackeray accident insurance scheme and the sick newborn care unit services. The schemes are likely to be implemented in U.P. with help from the Maharashtra government.
Dr. Sawant gave a detailed presentation to the delegates on a course for physicians. Mr. Singh expressed his desire that the course be started in U.P.
Dr. Sawant said both States would have a common mechanism to increase the quality of health services. The U.P. government has invited a team of health officials and Dr. Sawant to visit and inspect its health facilities.
“Motorbike ambulances would be an important addition to our health services to reach people through narrow lanes in Kanpur, Varanasi, Agra and Meerut. We have fewer government doctors in specialised fields. Maharashtra’s telemedicine model could be implemented in our State, which will be helpful,” said Mr. Singh.
