Haryana govt signs MoU with PGIMER for newborn screening

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij today said an MoU was signed with PGIMER, Chandigarh for training ophthalmologists posted in government hospitals for screening of retinopathy of prematurity in premature babies.

Apart from this, a sum of Rs 545.7 lakh has been sanctioned for tertiary-level treatment of 511 children, he said.

Vij said the training had been completed for Ambala, Karnal, Hisar and Fatehabad districts.

About 31 lakh children were screened under Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakaram (RBSK) during 2017-18, he said.

He said that 3.8 lakh children were confirmed to have some health conditions, out of which 3.6 lakh availed treatment at various health facilities.

These included 277 children with clubfoot, 97 children who were surgically treated for cleft lip and palate, 254 children who were treated for congenital heart disease and 106 children who were treated for other health conditions, he said.

These facilities were being provided at private empanelled hospitals such as Fortis Mohali, Narayana Hrudalya Jaipur and Artemis Gurgaon, he added.

The health minister said that 21 district early intervention centres have been set up at level of civil hospital.

The idea behind early intervention is to minimise disability.

Once the disability is already established then the intervention would include enhancement of child development for the child to reach the highest potential possible and prevent progression to handicap that may arise from activity limitation, he said.

As many as 62,396 new cases and 29,255 follow-up cases were registered and accessed early intervention services, he said.