Central team concludes visit to assess and assist Karnataka's COVID-19 response

A central team of doctors deputed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare concluded their Karnataka visit today. The agenda of the team was to assess the State’s COVID-19 response and provide the required assistance.

The team consisting of Dr. Avdhesh Kumar, Additional Director, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Dr. RK Gupta, Consultant Physician, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Dr Nishant Kumar, Professor, Anaesthesia, Lady Hardinge Medical College, and Dr. Anuradha Shulania, Associate Professor, Microbiology, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital visited health facilities and institutions across the state, interacting with local and state health officials in the districts of Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Chikkaballapura, Hassan and Dakshina Kannada.

The team also held meetings with officials of the Department of Health and Family Welfare including Jawaid Akthar, Additional Chief Secretary, Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Commissioner, R Ramachandra Rao, MD, National Health Mission, Karnataka.

“The central team held discussions about the State’s preparedness in COVID-19 and reviewed the establishment of a designated structure of institutions to serve COVID-19 patients through fever clinics, exclusive COVID care centers, and swab collection facilities at taluka and district levels. The team was also apprised on the measures put in place to strengthen universal surveillance using available databases on TB, HIV patients, and other vulnerable patients. The team was informed that the per day testing capacity was being increased successfully, and that technology, along with the involvement of private health facilities was being effectively used to increase outreach,” said Jawaid Akthar, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka.

“In Bengaluru, the team visited health facilities including fever clinics and the designated COVID-19 Victoria Hospital. The team also visited institutions such as NIMHANS, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, and the National Institute of Virology, Bengaluru. They were updated on various innovations of Karnataka to strengthen health systems and surveillance, including the Critical Care Support team and the tele-ICU unit, the BBMP War Room, and the Media Bulletin Room. During their travel to other districts, the central team visited fever clinics, quarantine and isolation wards of district and taluka-hospitals, as well as microbiology labs,” said Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Commissioner, Department of Health and Family Welfare.

“The team declared that the Victoria Hospital and Surathkal quarantine facilities were model practices to be followed. They also made suggestions on medium and long term measures like strengthening human resources at health institutions, training, and mass counseling,” Pandey added.

The central team deemed the Mysuru screening facility as excellent and declared that the ‘Critical Care Support team initiative’ should be emulated by other states.