NEWS – Pregnant women to get 24×7 aid at hospitals  under Mission Zero Preventable Deaths

HIGHLIGHTS

Introduction of 24×7 Services

• Taluk hospitals across Karnataka to operate round the clock.
• Focused on providing support to pregnant women with specialists and additional staff.

Mission Zero Preventable Deaths

• New initiative by the state health department.
• Received in-principle approval from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
• Aims to eliminate preventable maternal deaths.

Recruitment and Staffing Improvements

• Approval for recruiting:
  • 1,205 Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) out of 3,927 vacant posts.
  • 300 Health Inspectors (HI) out of 2,990 vacant posts.
• Plan to recruit obstetricians and anaesthetists based on delivery rates at hospitals.
• Redeployment of doctors from hospitals with low delivery rates to those with higher demand.

Home Visits and Early Risk Identification

• ANMs and ASHA workers to conduct regular home visits.
• Early identification of risks among pregnant women.
• Proposed involvement of gynaecologists in monitoring expectant mothers.

Improved Maternal Mortality Rates (MMR)

• Reduction in MMR from 69 deaths per lakh in 2018-20 to 55 in 2022-24.
• State MMR lower than the national average.

Budget Utilisation and Future Plans

• Health and family welfare department has used ₹6,593 crore of ₹11,182 crore budget allocation.
• Plans to make medicine procurement transparent:
  • New tenders to be issued.
  • Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Limited to be headed by an IAS officer.