National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has entered into public-private-partnership (PPP) with Karuna Trust and Asian Research & Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST), to adopt and manage the first referral units (FRU), dedicated for maternal healthcare services, in several economically backward districts of Karnataka.
While Karuna Trust is responsible for identifying the medical professionals for each FRU, ARTIST will undertake capacity building of the staff, carry out monitoring of services, provide technical support and operate the helpline, as a technical partner of the PPP.
Karuna Trust will deploy medical and paramedical staff at FRUs through an arrangement with medical colleges and its own training institutes. ARTIST is involved in training and capacity building, quality control and monitoring of maternal health care delivery.
ARTIST will operate the FRUs round-the-clock and families below the poverty line (BPL) will be given services for free and families above the poverty line will be charged nominally for every delivery, a release said.
The FRU will offer full scale of maternal healthcare services, from screening, scanning, laboratory tests, and medicine supply to patients to institutional delivery.
Each FRU will have 4 staff nurse, 2 health workers, 2 ward boys, 1 doctor, 1 postgraduate doctor and one ambulance. A successful pilot at Santhemaralli in Chamarajanagara district, has already been conducted.