Centre teams inspects health facilities at saran
The team began its inspection at Chhapra Sadar Hospital, where they reviewed hospital management protocols and discussed progress made in the elimination of kala-azar with local officials. Their visit included the emergency ward, outpatient department, medicine distribution centre, blood bank, laboratory, kala-azar ward and the nutrition and rehabilitation centre.
They also inspected primary health centres in both rural and urban areas, focusing in particular on health and wellness centres, now known as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, in Shitalpur Dih and other locations including Sonepur and Phulwaria (Maker).
The team evaluated aspects such as patient satisfaction, staffing levels and availability of medical equipment. Their observations will be compiled into a report to be submitted to central authorities.
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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Ahmedabad: Construction of 1,800-bed hospital hits wall of ‘faith'
On May 27 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his two-day trip to Gujarat, laid the foundation stone of an 1,800-bed hospital inside the Medicity campus in Ahmedabad, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 588 crore. Almost two months later, the project has hit a hurdle even before even the plans could be finalised. Standing in the way of the expansion and modernisation of the largest public sector healthcare campus on India's western seaboard, is a temple, whose priest has claimed that the 'goddess has refused to give up the space'. The priest at the temple of Khodiyar Mata, a local deity, claims that it has been there since pre-Independence and has become an 'intersection of science and faith and a major landmark for those lost in the sprawling campus'. A constant stream of devotees, including relatives of patients admitted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and those from the neighbourhood, flock to the temple that has recently repainted saffron from the outside, with its sanctum containing multiple idols of Khodiyar Mata, dotted with blue tiles which have not been changed for several years now — also 'as per the wishes of the mother,' priest Sandeep Thakurbhai Dave tells The Indian Express. The temple, located at the centre of the Medicity campus has also become a geolocation as people are given directions with the temple as a point of reference. The civil hospital in the Asarwa area of Ahmedabad recently saw a huge influx of visitors from all over the world, when it turned into a nodal centre for families of victims after a London-bound AI 171 crashed minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad, into the BJ Medical College hostel next to the temple. The hospital took charge of the DNA investigations of the severely charred bodies of the 241 aboard and 19 on-ground who died, handing them out to their relatives. The deceased included some of the hospital's own students and staffers. Now, the old post-mortem building, which connects through a skyway to the main hospital building, the area between the old trauma centre till the Superintendent's office (admin block) is to be demolished to free some 1.60 lakh square metres of space for the 1,800-bed hospital with an OPD section and a 150-bed ICU to eliminate waiting for beds. There will be a 50-bed isolation ward and several modular operation theatres and a two-storied parking block, which will accommodate 650 cars and 1,000 two-wheelers. The civil hospital is spread over a 108 acre space that includes several super speciality facilities. The Khodiyar Mata temple, located right opposite to the old post-mortem building, is also among those marked for demolition. The plan was to relocate the temple in an alternate space inside the hospital campus, if the authorities agreed. The construction of this new hospital building will not only take the total bed capacity of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to 4,200 beds, but will also double its ICU capacity from the current 150 to 300 beds. Most importantly, the OPD blocks will be moved to the prospective 10-storey building. On July 13, a video of Dr Rakesh Joshi, Medical Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, went viral where he was seen praying and performing rituals at this temple. Dr Joshi had later clarified in a video that he had gone to discuss with temple officials possible ways to proceed with the development 'in a way that faith is not compromised'. 'I went and explained the project to them. I suggested that we must co-operate to make sure that this hospital is built so that several poor patients receive the benefit of treatment', he said in the video. Dr Joshi later told The Indian Express, 'I tried to reach out to the temple to find a consensual path forward. However, they have refused to relocate the temple. A decision will now be taken by higher officials.' Notably, the buildings marked for demolition are already being evacuated and stopgap measures are being taken in other parts of the hospital campus. Most importantly, the labs and central stores have already been relocated and the rest of the buildings will be cleared soon, said Dr Joshi. Temple priest Dave told this paper: 'Hospital officials told us that if they don't move the temple, then they will lose space for 300 beds, but this temple was here even before the hospital was built.' Claiming that the deity had 'not allowed' a previous construction project decades earlier because the temple had been removed in the 1950's, Dave said, 'Mataji had destroyed the incomplete construction seven times. The mother then told my ancestor, who was then the pujari here, that he would find her idol buried where her small temple once stood. And true enough, the top half of this idol was found there,' he says, pointing to a smaller idol next to the main one of the deity that is kept on a wooden stool. 'It was only after the temple was restored that this hospital was built,' he adds. When asked about the current predicament, the priest said, 'The hospital administration approached us about the construction of the new hospital a couple of months ago and we have had several conversations about it. But when we asked Mataji if she permitted the relocation of the temple, she refused not once but multiple times.' Dave claimed that the hospital superintendent's visit on Sunday was part of his 'seeking clearance' from the Goddess for the project. 'He (Dr Joshi) came at 9 am and we first asked him to pray for what he wished to seek from Mataji and told him that we would look for her answer. If she agrees even twice, that means she has given permission,' the priest claimed, adding that they performed a temple ritual to seek the Goddess's 'consent' — but it was 'negative'. Dave said they had not received any communication from the hospital administration after Sunday's ritual.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- The Hindu
Scrub typhus is now the most common infectious cause of acute encephalitis syndrome in southern India
A large multicentre study of 587 children with acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu has revealed that scrub typhus, a bacterial infection, is now the most common infectious cause of AES in southern India. The study by a team of researchers from NIMHANS, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, and St. John's Medical College Hospital has been recently published in The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia. Global challenge AES, characterised by acute onset fever and altered mental status and/or new seizures, presents a significant global public health challenge. It has an incidence of 3.5 to 13.8 cases per 1,00,000 patient-years, disproportionately affects children, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. In India, over 10,000 cases of AES are reported annually to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). Historically, surveillance efforts have prioritised Japanese encephalitis (JE), even as its incidence has significantly declined due to widespread vaccination. Moreover, recent studies reveal a dynamic, region-specific, and evolving aetiology of AES in India. Scrub typhus (caused by bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi), an under-recognised cause of AES, has been increasingly reported in certain regions. Aimed at systematically investigating infectious aetiologies of AES in children from southern India and developing clinical prediction models for diagnosing scrub typhus, the study found that the bacterial infection is now the most common infectious cause (44%) of AES in southern India, far exceeding Japanese encephalitis virus (11%). Scrub typhus and other doxycycline-treatable infections are significant contributors of AES in India. However, limited surveillance in southern India has hindered their recognition and the inclusion of doxycycline in treatment protocols. From tertiary care hospitals The prospective study enrolled children aged above 28 days to 18 years with AES presenting to three tertiary care hospitals in Bengaluru - Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, Vani Vilas, and St. John Medical College Hospital. Primary outcomes were microbiological diagnosis of AES and clinical prediction models for diagnosing scrub typhus and identifying patients with doxycycline-treatable causes. Models were developed using multivariable logistic regression, internally validated, and simplified into point-scoring systems. Between March 2020 and February 2023, 714 children were screened, of whom 587 were included. Of these, 315 (54%) had a microbiological diagnosis. Scrub typhus accounted for 138/315 (44%), and doxycycline-treatable causes were diagnosed in 193/315 (61%) of these cases. Key predictors associated with both scrub typhus and doxycycline-treatable causes were age, illness duration, lymphadenopathy, oedema, hepatomegaly, lymphocyte count, platelet count, and serum albumin levels, said Tina Damodar, clinical virologist and DBT-Welcome Trust fellow, Department of Neurovirology at NIMHANS, who is the lead author of the study. 'Among the 315 children with an identified infectious cause, dengue (10%), leptospira (5%), and chikungunya (5%) were also notable. Other detected pathogens included herpes viruses, enteroviruses, pneumococcus, tuberculosis, and measles, reflecting a diverse and region-specific AES landscape. These findings highlight the need to update AES surveillance and treatment protocols,' Dr. Damodar told The Hindu on Thursday. 'The study found that over 60% of microbiologically confirmed AES cases were caused by doxycycline-treatable infections, primarily scrub typhus. Despite this, doxycycline is not routinely included in empirical AES treatment in many parts of India,' she said. Recommendation Another author Reeta S. Mani, head of Neurovirology at NIMHANS, said that based on the results, the study recommends including doxycycline or azithromycin in the initial treatment of children with AES or acute febrile illness (AFI) in southern India - a change already implemented at the participating referral tertiary care hospitals. 'Timely treatment is critical. Among the 138 children with scrub typhus, nearly 40% either died or developed neurological complications, largely due to delayed diagnosis. To address this, the study calls for wider availability of scrub typhus diagnostic tests (IgM ELISA or PCR) at primary and secondary care levels,' the doctor said. The researchers have also developed a clinical prediction model - a simple point-based tool that can help frontline clinicians identify children likely to benefit from doxycycline, even before lab confirmation is available.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Time of India
Delhi govt to inaugurate 34 new Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs
New Delhi: The Delhi government is set to inaugurate 34 new Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs across the city by next week, bringing the total number of such centres to 67, officials said on Tuesday. There are presently 33 Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs operational across Delhi aiming to provide holistic, accessible and affordable primary healthcare. The addition of 34 more centres this week will mark the second phase of the rollout. Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Singh told PTI, "We will inaugurate 34 more Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs this week. In the third phase of the rollout, the total number will rise to 80." He emphasised the initiative reflects the government's strong commitment to strengthening the healthcare system and ensuring better services for Delhi residents. The initiative is being positioned as a corrective step toward bridging healthcare gaps that the government claims were neglected by previous administrations. "These are not just buildings. They are centres of primary care and prevention - areas that were lacking in the previous government's approach," Singh said. The district-wise distribution includes around five new centres in central Delhi, four in east Delhi, and several others across north east, north west, south east and west Delhi. Most of these centres are being established by upgrading existing mohalla clinics, dispensaries, and polyclinics. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her Cabinet inaugurated 33 Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs and 17 Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the city last month. The government has set an ambitious target of establishing over 1,100 such clinics across the capital. Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs are a component of the Union government's Ayushman Bharat initiative . After the BJP came to power in Delhi, the state government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre earlier this month to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the capital -- fulfilling a major poll promise of the party. Additionally, Rs 320 crore has been proposed for the expansion of Health and Wellness Centres and Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs to strengthen primary healthcare services through the establishment of 400 new HWCs and AAMs.
