Bhubaneswar: In view of sudden rise in temperature across the state along with very hot and humid conditions, the state govt on Friday directed all healthcare facilities to remain prepared to deal with heat-related illnesses. Health and family welfare department secretary Shalini Pandit on Friday directed authorities of hospitals to ensure proper management of heat-related cases, surveillance and proactive measures to mitigate chances of morbidity.
Officials sources said preparedness of health facilities must be reviewed with regards to availability of earmarked beds, adequate quantities of essential medicines, intravenous fluids, ice packs, ORS and all necessary equipment to provide active, emergency medical care and uninterrupted power supply.
She directed the officials to ensure sufficient availability of drinking water at healthcare facilities and proper functioning of cooling appliances in critical areas. “Undertake proper investigation of suspected heat-related illness (HRI) death as per Nation Action Plan to understand the circumstances around a suspected HRI death,” read the guideline issued by the department.
She said postmortem of all suspected HRI deaths needs to be conducted. The information regarding death should be submitted to govt immediately. “The confirmed deaths would be notified by the special relief commissioner (SRC) or district collector,” she added.

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