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Govt issues guidelines on public health at flood relief camps

By R Dutta Choudhury - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, May 30 - At a time when Assam is simultaneously fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic and floods, the State government has issued a series of guidelines for maintaining public health at the relief camps set up to provide shelter to flood and erosion-hit people and directed the health department to ensure availability of adequate personal protection equipment (PPE) for frontline workers in the vulnerable locations.

In a standard operating procedure (SOP) sent to the joint directors of health services in all the districts, the government said plans should be prepared and resources mobilised for setting up temporary hospitals as per requirement.

The SOP said the joint directors of health services should collect the lists of designated relief camps in coordination with the district administration and designate campwise doctors and other staff so that adequate healthcare facilities can be provided to the inmates. Rosters of doctors and paramedical staff should be prepared and directives issued to the roster members to screen camp inmates within 24 hours of their entry into the camps. Regular health checkup of the inmates should be carried out at least once a week, the SOP said.

The health authorities should identify quarantine and isolation centres and maintain lists of medicines and equipment to be moved into the camps within the shortest possible time. The authorities should ensure that emergency transportation services are provided to the camps and one ambulance each is stationed at camps having more than 500 inmates. The authorities should map the villages vulnerable to floods and camps endemic to water-borne diseases so that adequate precautions can be taken to prevent outbreak of such diseases. The health department has also been directed to learn from experiences of the previous years while planning schemes to ensure healthcare.

The joint directors of health services have been asked to maintain close coordination with the district administration and to supervise the functioning of the designated doctors and para medical staff in their respective districts during floods. Vaccination and immunisation programmes should continue at the relief camps along with arrangements for fogging and rodent control measures.

The joint directors of health services have also been asked to explore the possibility of collaboration with doctors of non-governmental organisations and private practitioners. Special awareness drives should be launched among the camp inmates to prevent outbreak of any disease, the SOP mentioned.