Kaul Singh dedicates 43 new ambulances to public

Tribune News Service

Mandi, December 1

Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur today dedicated a fleet of 43 ambulances to the public. The ambulances will provide the drop-back facility for new mothers in Mandi, Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Bilaspur and Hamirpur districts under the Janani Express Seva. He inaugurated the Red Ribbon Mela also.

Kaul Singh said patients suffering from heart ailments were being treated successfully under the tele-stroke project of the government.

He was addressing a gathering during a state-level World AIDS Day function.

Earlier, the minister said newborn-care corners had been set up for neonates at 93 delivery centres and 33 neonatal ICUs had been established in two medical colleges and district hospitals of the state. Nutrition rehabilitation centres had also been set up for the children suffering from malnutrition, he said.

The minister said out of 23.10 lakh HIV cases in the country, the 2,734 cases reported in Himachal Pradesh were being given anti-retroviral therapy, which increases the life span of the patient.

For the awareness of youth, 268 Red Ribbon Clubs in colleges and 257 in Nehru Yuva Kendras had been established with the help of Youth Services and Sports Department, he added.

Present on the occasion, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Sohan Lal Thakur said HIV/AIDS was a social problem and it was important to create awareness in society.

With the efforts of the government, the percentage of HIV+ cases had come down in the state from 37 per cent in 2007 to 0.19 per cent at present.

He said for anti-retroviral therapy, the state government was providing free travel facility and financial assistance of Rs 300 to Rs 800 to the patient in the age group of zero to 18 years.