Telangana Health Dept reaps two nationl awards, Harish elated

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has bagged two more awards in the Health department including the 'Mata Shishu Sanrakshan' and second position in the country in identification of high-risk cases and also appreciation for the Midwifery system.

The Health Minister T Harish Rao expressed happiness over the health department getting national awards. According to the officials, the Centre has praised the policies followed by the State for the care of pregnant women. The Union Ministry of Health has announced two awards for Telangana as part of the "National Maternal Health Workshop" programme held in Delhi. The Centre has appreciated the steps being taken by the State Health Department to completely prevent maternal deaths.

Joint Director (Maternal Health) Dr S Padmaja received the award on behalf of the state government from Union Minister of State for Health Dr Bharti Praveen Pawar at a program held in Delhi on Wednesday. The Centre has praised the midwifery system introduced by the Telangana government for the first time in the country. With this policy, quality delivery services were more accessible to pregnant women. To further improve delivery services in the state, the government introduced the midwifery system for the first time in the country. Best training was provided to selected nurses. So far 212 trained midwives have been appointed by the government in 49 hospitals. They provide counselling, exercise and psychological preparation to pregnant women. Currently another 141 people were undergoing training. They would be available soon. This policy has become a model for other states, the officials said.

Telangana stands second in the country after Tamil Nadu in identifying and providing treatment to high-risk pregnant women. The state government aims to reduce maternal mortality completely. For this purpose, 'Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality' (EPMM) program was being implemented. A special system was developed with medical officers, staff nurses and ANMs for early detection of high risk pregnancies, continuous monitoring (tracking) and referral for best treatment. Special training was given to them and this made it possible to identify high risk cases early, monitor their health, move them to hospitals and provide them with proper treatment. Apart from this, the KCR kit and Ammaodi vehicle services implemented by the government were also a boon for pregnant women. As a result, maternal mortality in the state has reduced significantly.

Harish Rao said that the maternal and childcare measures implemented in the state with the idea of CM K Chandrashekar Rao were bearing fruit. Two more central government awards were a testament to the performance of the medical staff. The recent Sample Registration Survey also revealed Telangana's progress in reducing maternal mortality. It was a great thing that MMR which was 92 in 2014 has now been reduced to 43 now. Achieving these achievements was because of the continuous efforts of district and state level medical officers from ANMs to provide medical services at the field level. Congratulations to all, said Rao.