Latest news with #NagnathYempalle
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Conduct mock drills to test readiness of oxygen plants: State issues fresh guidelines to all health officials
1 2 Pune: The state health commissioner on Monday issued fresh guidelines to health officials in all civic bodies, district health offices and Zilla Parishad offices, directing them to conduct mock drills of all the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants that were operational during the Covid-19 pandemic. State govt has also asked these bodies to reserve beds in case of any surge in respiratory infections while ensuring that all Covid-positive samples are sent for genome sequencing. The circular issued by the commissioner states that there has been a slow but steady rise in acute respiratory infections (ARIs) across the country. Most of the cases are mild and the current SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in circulation is the JN 1, XFG and LF 7.9. Common symptoms include fever, cough and itching in the throat. As of Monday, Maharashtra has 506 active patients; most of them are in Mumbai. There have been 10 fatalities in the state during the current surge since mid-May. Although these cases are mild, as a measure of precaution, health officials have to take a stock update on the availability of the number of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) sets, medical oxygen as well as isolation, ICU and ventilator beds. "A mock drill must be conducted of the PSA oxygen plants to check for oxygen preparedness," said the directive. Further, it has been instructed that about 5% of all influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) patients' samples must be sent for testing and all positive samples must be sent to the regional Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) for genome sequencing. The district surveillance units have been told to keep a close watch on the SARI and ILI trends in their areas. In view of the above guidelines, Dr Nagnath Yempalle, civil surgeon, Pune district, said, "We have conducted a mock drill of all our oxygen plants. While most are in working condition, some will need repairs, especially those in the periphery, where oxygen plants are not in regular use. We will get those repaired as well. We already have a 100-bed Covid hospital that was set up during the pandemic, which we can use to admit patients in need. We have already cleaned the hospital." Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health chief Dr Nina Borade commented, "We have conducted the mock drills of some of our oxygen plants, and most are in working condition. We will inspect the remaining ones on Tuesday, and a final report will be prepared. If any of the plants need repairs, then we will conduct the same. Many of these plants have not been in use for a long time and might need some maintenance. We have also reserved 50 beds at Naidu hospital for Covid-19 patients. " Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) medical officer Dr Laxman Gophane was unavailable for a comment despite repeated attempts by TOI to contact him.
Hindustan Times
12-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Pune district gets its first geriatric unit with OPD services & 10 beds for elderly care
In a first-of-its-kind initiative of the public health department, a dedicated geriatric unit for the elderly has been set up at Aundh District Hospital (ADH), Pune, which is scheduled to be inaugurated next month. This is the only centre in Pune district developed under the National Programme for Health Care for the Elderly (NPHCE), a ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) scheme for provision of comprehensive healthcare services to the elderly, officials said. According to officials, the unit has been developed within the district hospital campus. The work is at the end-stage and currently, minor electrical work and painting is in progress. The unit will have a geriatric clinic with regular dedicated outpatient department (OPD) services for the elderly and a 10-bed geriatric ward for in-patient care. Facilities will be made available for laboratory investigations for the diagnosis and provision of medicines for geriatric medical and health problems. Existing specialties such as General Medicine, Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology and ENT among others will be provided. The health department is also in talks with private organisation/s to set up additional services at the unit, free-of-cost, officials said. The geriatric unit will provide services to elderly patients referred by primary health centres and similar facilities in the district. Besides, health camps for geriatric patients will be held by the unit in the district. Dr Nagnath Yempalle, Pune district civil surgeon and head of ADH, said that in the past few years, there has been a rise in the number and proportion of the geriatric population. 'The unit has been developed as per the directions of the MoHFW to provide a comprehensive health care setup completely dedicated to the elderly. The services are designed to provide preventive, curative and rehabilitative services to geriatric patients,' he said. Dr Yempalle further said that the unit is the need of the hour considering the surge in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and social care required by the elderly. 'Disabilities due to NCDs are common in the elderly, which affect mobility, compromising the ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Besides, we will soon write to the director's office requesting additional dedicated staff for the unit,' he said.
