Blueprint for Handling Health Emergencies

The deaths of over 150 children in Bihar from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome have brought into forefront lacunas in the handling of health care emergencies.

Roadmap for Handling Emergencies

Administrative mechanism

• First and foremost step must be to declare a public health emergency within the affected region with immediate effect.
• This would enable the state healthcare and other concerned agencies, including the district administration and disaster management authorities, to pool their wisdom and resources.
• Further, a group headed by a dedicated administrative officer with the requisite expertise and experience and comprising of representatives from healthcare and other concerned agencies, including the district administration and disaster management authorities must be constituted.
• This Group must come into operation within 24 hours of the declaration of the emergency and must be vested with full control and responsibility for ensuring prompt life-saving medical services, including essential nutritional supplements.
• The Group must be an autonomous body with defined administrative and financial powers. It must take necessary decisions and coordinate efforts, including putting in place research work, and additional infrastructural support from within the state and outside it.
• This Group’s mandate must be all-inclusive. It must be responsible for dissemination of information (by means of the media and field health workers) on the disease, general awareness on government nutrition and hygiene programmes, precautionary measures, obtaining and sharing of diagnosis-treatment protocol, taking feedback on the treated patients and finally, the disbursal of compensation to the unfortunate victim’s entitled kith and kin speedily.

A blueprint of the above suggested administrative mechanism must be kept ready by each state, with various functionaries nominated and notified. Further periodic mock drills must be conducted in a professional manner, particularly in more vulnerable areas.