Phone a doctor emergency service 104 to be launched in Assam

GUWAHATI - Doctors on telephone and attending to emergency calls and providing possible life saving tips or guiding a patient to the right hospital or a specialist - this is what will exactly happen in Assam beginning January.

The Assam health department would launch an emergency helpline 104 - just dial 104 and a doctor would attend your call to help a patient in distress.

“The idea is to provide instant help to a patient or their families. In many cases, a patient dies before one could realise what to do and where to go. Now one have to just dial 104 and a doctor would give the best possible advice,” Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told IANS.

The 104 helpline is expected to be launched in January with about 100 doctors exclusively assigned to handle this emergency service round-the-clock.

“A doctor attending the emergency 104 call could at times guide the patient to the right hospital or suggest the name of a specialist doctor the patient need to see depending on the nature of the illness,” Sarma said.

Already, the Assam health department has come up with several ingenious healthcare schemes for the people.

The 108 emergency ambulance services in Assam is doing wonders since it was launched a year ago with patients across the state availing the facility of getting shifted from homes to the nearest hospital in the quickest possible time.

Earlier in September, the Assam government recruited 800 doctors, a move that has already revolutionised the rural healthcare sector.

“Our focus is on total healthcare across the state,” the minister said.

Already the Assam health department has come up with several ingenious healthcare schemes for the people.

Patients admitted to government hospitals in Assam recieve a day cash allowance of up to Rs.100 besides free meals and medicines.

As part of the scheme named ‘Maram’ (Assamese for love), a patient in medical college hospitals receives Rs.100 daily in cash while those in district hospitals get Rs.75.

Earlier this year, the Assam government announced a series of health packages including a Rs.1.8 billion scheme to do away with the traditional gender bias by offering financial assistance to the girl child and radical measures to improve the health of would-be mothers.

Under a scheme named ‘Majoni’ (Assamese for little girls), a new-born girl child was given a fixed deposit instrument worth Rs.5,000 while a would-be mother would get Rs.1,000 in cash - Rs.500 each during the first two check-ups.

Assam has also launched an ambitious family planning scheme. Couples choosing not to have babies for two years after marriage get Rs.5,000 and those who opt not to have children for three years get Rs.7,500.