NHRC endorses plea for cardiac care facilities in periphery areas

CUTTACK: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has endorsed a complaint seeking intervention for ensuring cardiac care facilities in peripheral areas of Odisha along with other states and forwarding it to the central government for appropriate action.While furthering the complaint to the secretary of Health and Family Welfare department on Friday, the NHRC in its order said, “This complaint be transmitted to the concerned authority for such action as deemed appropriate.” The rights body registered the complaint naming general public as ‘victim.

Raising concern over lack of emergency cardiac care facilities in rural and peripheral areas of Odisha and also other states, Jeypore based human rights activist Anup Patro had filed the complaint seeking direction to the Union government along with all state governments to take remedial measures and save precious lives. Trained doctors should be posted at all primary health centres (PHC) and community health centres (CHCs) with tele-consultation facility to tackle emergency cardiac cases. “Emergency cardiac medicine must be available at PHC and CHC level along with basic diagnostic facility like ECG, blood test and Troponin test,” Patro said in the complaint.

As per the complaint, in peripheral areas an average person waits three hours before seeking help for symptoms of heart attack. Many heart attack patients die before they reach hospital. The sooner the person gets to the emergency room, the better the chance of survival. Prompt medical treatment reduces the amount of heart damage. “But unfortunately, no such visible steps have been taken by the government till date. This is resulting loss of many valuable lives every day”, he claimed, adding nowadays heart attack is the second most common cause of death.

“As a measure of constitutional obligation, the government of India along with all state governments must take ground-breaking initiatives on cardiac care to give better treatment facilities”, the complaint stated.