Latest news with #RashtriyaBalSwasthyaKaryakram
The Hindu
30-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Karnataka approves cleft care mentorship programme in State-run hospitals
To enhance the capacity of State-run hospitals to perform cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries, the government of Karnataka has approved a 'Cleft care mentorship programme'. Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common congenital anomalies affecting children in Karnataka. Surgical correction is essential for the physical, psychological, and social rehabilitation of affected individuals. However, there exists a gap in the availability of adequately trained maxillofacial surgeons in government hospitals, particularly in rural and underserved regions. At present, most of the cleft lip and cleft palate cases identified by the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) team or District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) are referred to empanelled private health facilities and NGOs for corrective surgery. Besides, only around 20 procedures have been conducted under the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) scheme over the last five years by one government medical college, four private medical colleges and two private hospitals. According to a government order issued on July 28, a gap analysis of government hospitals will be done by Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST), the nodal agency implementing the State's health schemes, to identify and provide the required infrastructure. equipment or HR for conducting cleft lip and cleft palate corrective surgeries. 'A pool of mentor surgeons should be prepared, based on qualifying criteria, as decided by a committee of technical experts. A probable list of maxillofacial surgeons working in the Health and Medical Education departments should be prepared. Children who require corrective surgery should be identified by RBSK teams and allocated to private hospitals, NGOs and government hospitals for surgery. The mentor surgeons should conduct the surgery at government hospitals, and also train other surgeons,' the GO states.
Time of India
24-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Govt, Aided School Students and Anganwadi Kids Undergo Health Screening in Coimbatore Every Year
Coimbatore: At least 506 school students in the district were diagnosed with congenital heart disease in the 2024-25 fiscal. Their heart defect would have remained undetected for long had it not been for the screening of students in govt, aided and corporation schools, and anganwadis in the district under the Unition govt's Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) initiative. Early intervention services are also provided under the initiative. P Balusamy, deputy director, Public Health Services, Coimbatore, said 66 of the 506 students diagnosed with congenital heart disease had undergone surgeries in the last academic year. "The surgeries were performed at govt and private hospitals free of cost. The state govt took care of all medical expenses for the children under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme. The remaining children were medically managed. " Introduced in 2013, this Union govt initiative aims to identify and treat defects at birth, diseases, deficiencies and disabilities, including developmental delays. The scheme primarily focuses on children aged 0-6 years, followed by those in the age group of 7-19 years. For early intervention, RBSK teams in the district conduct screenings at anganwadi centres twice a year and at schools once a year. Children suspected of having health conditions are referred to the District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) at the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital. The centre provides free treatment. As per the data available with the RBSK teams in the district, more than 2.43 lakh school students and 1.34 lakh anganwadi children were screened under the scheme in 2024-25. Among the seven major defects requiring surgery, congenital heart disease was the most common. The number of confirmed congenital heart disease cases has, in fact, decreased to 506 in 2024-25 from 522 in 2023-24. Emphasizing on the importance of early detection, Dr C Lavanya, member of a RBSK team, said, "Unaddressed heart ailments, including a hole in the heart, in girls could affect their maternal journey and contribute to maternal mortality. In boys, these conditions could cause fatigue and damage to other organs due to poor blood circulation. Early detection ensures a better future." The scheme has also helped identify rare conditions like duchenne muscular dystrophy, which could be fatal in the late 20s, among school students. Other conditions such as tongue-tie, gynecomastia and thyroid disorders are also treated under the scheme. However, challenges remain, particularly in convincing parents about their children's diagnosed condition. While 80% of the diagnosed children approach the DEIC, parents of the remaining 20% children refuse to accept the diagnosis. Regular follow-up and counselling are offered to address this issue. According to the medical experts, the congenital heart disease rate aligns with the normal prevalence rate of 9 per 1,000 live births. However, actual numbers might be higher since the RBSK data only covers the govt and aided schools.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Kids with heart conditions must get timely, quality treatment: Ukesh
Mysuru: Mysuru zilla panchayat CEO S Ukesh Kumar on Tuesday stressed the need to strengthen the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) and improve healthcare services for anganwadi and schoolchildren suffering from health issues. He emphasised that children referred for advanced treatment must be consistently followed up, ensuring their treatment is completed without delay. He was speaking at the district-level review meeting of national health programmes, held at Anubhava Mantapa auditorium, district health office. "Children with heart conditions must receive timely, quality treatment at super specialty hospitals. Early detection and management of health issues among children through regular check-ups at schools and anganwadi centres are crucial to reducing infant mortality," he said. Highlighting preventable infant deaths, he instructed taluk health officers to conduct facility and community-level reviews and submit taluk-wise reports, along with actionable recommendations. Regarding maternal deaths, he directed officials to seek reports from the district-level technical expert committee and initiate action against responsible parties where necessary. Calling for full implementation of the Kayakalp programme in 2025-26, Kumar asked health officials to review pending tasks and achieve 100% progress in internal, state, and national assessments within the next three months. He recommended including health progress discussions in monthly panchayat development officer (PDO) meetings and monthly revenue department reviews chaired by the deputy commissioner. The CEO also emphasised strict compliance with biomedical waste management protocols at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and directed regular monitoring of Covid-19, influenza H1N1, dog bite, and snakebite cases under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). 75 TB-related deaths Reviewing TB control efforts from Jan to June 2025, Kumar noted 75 TB-related deaths with a 7% mortality rate. He directed officials to reduce this below 5% and submit death audit reports without fail. Under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme, 78 active cases were reported in the district, primarily in T Narsipura, Nanjangud, and Mysuru city areas. Officials were asked to intensify weekly surveys and report suspected cases immediately.
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Strengthen RBSK to provide better care for children: Mysuru ZP CEO
Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer S. Yukesh Kumar has directed officials to strengthen the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) and ensure better medical care for children of Anganwadis and schools who are suffering from health issues. At a district-level review meeting of national health programmes, Mr. Kumar instructed officials to conduct regular health screenings at schools and Anganwadis to identify diseases at an early stage and provide timely treatment. 'Children with heart ailments must be provided with specialised treatment and surgeries at superspecialty hospitals to help reduce infant mortality,' he said. Mr. Kumar said that follow-up and completion of treatment for children referred for further care must be ensured and called for necessary action based on reports from the district-level technical expert committee in cases of maternal and infant deaths to identify lapses and initiate action against those responsible. He instructed officials to achieve 100% targets under the Kayakalpa scheme in the financial year 2025-26, and directed all health centres to reach 100% progress in the next three months. Mr. Kumar stressed the importance of strict biomedical waste disposal at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs as per government guidelines and added that cases of Covid-19, Influenza H1N1, dog bites, and snake bites must be mandatorily reviewed with appropriate action taken. He directed officials to bring down the TB death rate to below 5%, expedite leprosy surveys, and report all suspected cases immediately. Mr. Kumar instructed that Manochaitanya counselling centres should operate every Tuesday, and photos of activities should be filed for documentation. Officials from District Health and Family Welfare Departments, including RCH officers, TB control officers, leprosy eradication officers, vector-borne disease control officers, surveillance officers, and taluk medical officers attended the meeting.
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
GMCH docs save 7-yr-old with rare pacemaker op
Guwahati: A team of doctors at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) successfully implanted a life-saving pacemaker on a seven-year-old girl suffering from complete heart block. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Cardiologists say this condition occurs in one among 22,000 live births. According to the doctors, this disease is very rare, especially in children as young as seven years old. Dr Pranab Jyoti Bhattacharya, professor of cardiology at GMCH who led the team of doctors, said, "Congenital complete heart block has an incidence rate of only 0.006%. That is almost one in 22,000 live births. So it is that rare." He added that when the complete heart block in the girl, identified as Arjina Begum, was detected and she was admitted to GMCH about a week ago, the doctors had no other option but to conduct the procedure as soon as possible, considering the high possibility of mortality in such cases. "The treatment for her ailment was the implantation of a permanent pacemaker. Today, we performed the pacemaker implantation under general anaesthesia successfully," he said, adding, the girl is recovering well. Doctors said it is very difficult to pinpoint the cause of the disease. However, certain autoimmune diseases in the mother, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), have some association with complete heart block in up to 3% of patients. In this case, the mother of the child did not have any history of SLE during her pregnancy, doctors said. "The most important thing is that if a permanent pacemaker is implanted, she will have a near-normal life with it," he added. Dr Bhattacharya was assisted by his DM cardiology students and junior faculty members, while the cardiac anaesthesia team was headed by Dr Madhurjya Bujarbaruah. The child is from Sontoli in Kamrup district. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The procedure was done free of cost under Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram. In a govt facility, such a procedure normally costs about Rs 1 lakh. In private hospitals, it costs about Rs 3 lakh. Arjina's father Abul Kalam Azad, a farmer, said the problem was detected at a govt hospital in Boko town of Kamrup district over a year ago after she fainted at home one day. He added that the medicines prescribed by the doctors in Boko did not work and she again fainted in school one day. "Of late, she was telling us that she felt as if a fish is hitting her in the chest. It was severe pain. Then we decided to bring her to GMCH where doctors told us to get ready for the procedure. All credit to GMCH doctors for giving a new life to our child," said Abul. According to doctors, normally, in children with congenital complete heart block, some may have associated structural heart disease, while others may have a normal heart. "This complete heart block is basically an electrical problem of the heart. If it is associated with other structural heart diseases, then the outcome is very poor. In our patient, echocardiography was done, and the rest of her heart was normal. There was no structural heart disease. However, her heart rate was very low, almost 35/40 per minute, which is abnormal. She was in the high-risk category, and mortality is very high if such a condition is not treated by implanting a permanent pacemaker," Bhattacharya said.
