Bhubaneswar: In view of the prevailing heat wave and humid conditions in the State, the State government has directed health centres at different levels to stay in total readiness for dealing with heat-related illness.
In a special guideline, Health and Family Welfare Secretary Shalini Pandit instructed all medical colleges & hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals, community health centres and district headquarters hospitals to scrupulously ensure all preparedness.
Referring to the National and State action plan on heat-related illnesses, she directed to ensure proper management of cases, surveillance, and proactive measures for mitigating the chances of morbidity. The guidelines are—-
Health facility preparedness must be reviewed with regard to the availability of required beds, adequate quantities of essential medicines, intravenous fluids, ice packs, ORS and all necessary equipment to provide active, emergency medical care with uninterrupted power supply.
Guidance on the development of heatstroke rooms and emergency management of severe heat-related illnesses are disseminated. Availability of sufficient drinking water at all Health Facilities and the continued functioning of cooling appliances in critical areas must be ensured.
Undertake proper investigation of suspected heat-related illness (HRI) death as per the Nation Action Plan to understand the circumstances around a suspected HRI death.
Post-mortem of all suspected HRI deaths are to be conducted. The information regarding death should be submitted to the Government immediately. The confirmed deaths would be notified by SRC/ Collector of the District.
Efforts should be made for sensitization and capacity building of medical officers, health staff, grassroots level workers on heat illness, its early recognition and management. Training manuals developed by NCDC on these subjects made available earlier should be used for orientation.
Districts may also utilize Information, Education and Communication (IEC) as well as Community Level awareness materials developed by NPCCHH & Director SIHFW regarding the precautions that should be taken by the population to safeguard them against heat waves.
