New Delhi: The government has put in place a health emergency plan for Jammu and Kashmir amid continuing cross-border shelling from Pakistan, dispatching two portable hospitals in the affected areas of Poonch and Uri, according to the two officials familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity.
The portable hospitals are called Arogya Maitri Cubes, which are designed to provide critical medical care in emergency scenarios such as disasters, conflicts and wars.
These cubes, which were earlier sent to Ukraine and have been battle-tested there, can be deployed within 12 minutes to treat up to 200 patients each at one go.
As per the plan, one cube is being sent to Poonch, which has been the worst hit by the shelling, and another to Uri.
Union health secretary Punya Salila Srivastava met with Jammu and Kashmir officials on Wednesday to review preparedness for dealing with health exigencies.
“The government reviewed the preparedness of the hospitals in the border areas. AIIMS-Jammu has been directed to augment the health preparedness and take a stock of the availability of beds, medicines, ambulances and manpower like doctors, nurses and paramedics,” said the person cited above.
AIIMS Jammu has a well-executed disaster plan. It is a referral centre and has to accept all patients. Pooch is nearly 250km from Jammu and healthcare infrastructure in Srinagar is very good and there are multiple big hospitals and medical colleges in various parts of Srinagar itself. AIIMS Jammu may get a referral patient only having emergency running 24/7,” said the second official.
Other big medical institutions in Srinagar include Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Jhelum Valley Hospital, G.B. Pant Children’s Hospital and Lal Ded Maternity Hospital.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with secretaries of various ministries and departments to review national preparedness and inter-ministerial coordination in light of recent developments concerning national security.
“Secretaries have been directed to undertake a comprehensive review of their respective ministry’s operations and to ensure fool-proof functioning of essential systems, with special focus on readiness, emergency response, and internal communication protocols. Secretaries detailed their planning with a Whole of Government approach in the current situation,” the PMO statement said.
“All ministries have identified their actionables in relation to the conflict and are strengthening processes. Ministries are ready to deal with all kinds of emerging situations,” it said.
Queries sent to the health ministry’s secretary office and health ministry spokesperson remained unanswered till press time.
