Chandigarh, January 24: For early identification of patients suffering from hypertension and put them on treatment, the Punjab Health department has launched India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) in five districts of the state i.e. Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Mansa in collaboration with World Health Organization, Government of India, Indian Council of Medical Research and Vital Strategies Organisation.
Disclosing this here today, the Health & Family Welfare Minister Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu said that the basic objective of the Project was early identification of cases of hypertension, put them on treatment, continuation of treatment to achieve and maintain control of hypertension so as to reduce the early mortality due to hypertension.
He said, 80,000 cases of hypertension had been enlisted till December 2019 under the screening programme, adding that under IHCI, doctors, staff nurses, ANMs, ASHAs were trained to screen patients for hypertension and initiate treatment at the earliest.
Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu said that this programme is based upon the Government of India Project launched in 5 states–Punjab, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. Punjab was the first state to launch the Project as a part of National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS).
The Minister said added that after successful implementation of earlier screening program for 2 years, Now Punjab Government decided to scale up the Project to the whole state. A workshop to this effect was held at the State level where the district health administrators including Civil Surgeons, District Nodal Officers and Medical Specialists were sensitised towards the Project by WHO and state Health representatives with inputs from ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and Vital Strategies Organisation.
It has been emphasised that the procurement of drugs is streamlined and the availability of drugs ensured at all levels in the Government hospitals and Health & Wellness Centres so that patients are not required to travel long distances to procure medicine he said adding that the trainings for the staff in the new districts will start in February and completed by end of March 2020. The Programme would be functional across state by April 2020.
