NEW DELHI, JUN 28 (PTI): The Centre on Monday launched the Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SSBSK), a unified child healthcare programme that will for the first time introduce a risk-stratified approach, providing intensified follow-up for newborns and children identified as “at-risk”.
Under the programme, newborns will receive up to nine home visits during the first 42 days of life, while at-risk children will receive up to eight home visits till the age of 36 months, according to the Union Health Ministry. Union Health Minister JP Nadda launched the programme at the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) at Vigyan Bhawan.
The programme would integrate the existing Home-Based Newborn Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Care for Young Child (HBYC) initiatives to provide a continuum of care for children from birth to 36 months.
The ministry said that the programme is built around the vision of ‘Pehle Teen Saal Sampoorna Dekhbhal’, recognising the importance of the first three years of life for child survival, nutrition, growth and early brain development.
“For the first time, the programme will introduce a risk-stratified approach for newborns and children identified as ‘at-risk’,” the ministry said in a statement.
The programme will further strengthen continuity of care through joint home visits by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), Community Health Officers (CHOs) and Anganwadi Workers (AWWs).
It will also introduce Well-Baby Sessions at every Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) and a monthly Shishu Shivir at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs for early identification, assessment and management of ‘at-risk’ children.
SSBSK will incorporate post-partum maternal mental health screening as a structured component of community-based care and will integrate nurturing care for Early Childhood Development (ECD) across all home visits and community contacts by promoting responsive caregiving, early learning, age-appropriate play, child safety and family engagement, the statement said.
The programme will leverage digital technologies through Decision-Support Systems (DSS), child-tracking applications, referral loops and alert mechanisms to strengthen monitoring and continuity of care, it added.
“These digital systems will be aligned with the JANANI Portal, U-WIN Portal, MPCDSR Portal, RBSK 2.0 Portal and POSHAN Tracker, enabling seamless data exchange and service continuity through ABHA and Baal-ABHA IDs,” it stated.
It will also address home-based care in urban settings through tailored strategies for slum, migrant and underserved populations.
The guidelines will also address emerging challenges of the digital era by promoting age-appropriate play, physical activity and mental stimulation during the first three years of life while recognising the adverse impact of excessive screen time and reduced physical interaction on brain development, emotional health and social skills, it said.
“The launch of Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SSBSK) will reaffirm the government’s commitment to ensuring accessible, equitable and quality healthcare for every mother and child towards the vision of Viksit Bharat,” the statement added.
Nadda launches operational guidelines for ambulance services
Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Monday released the operational guidelines for National Ambulance Services, which aim to establish uniform standards to ensure quality, accessibility, efficiency and responsiveness of ambulance services across the country, officials said.
The guidelines were released at the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare.
Developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the ambulance services constitute the first critical link in the emergency medical response chain, providing pre-hospital care, patient stabilisation, safe transport and timely referral to appropriate healthcare facilities.
The guidelines provide a comprehensive national framework for standardising ambulance services and strengthening emergency medical transport systems across all states and Union territories, a ministry statement said.
The guidelines will lay down operational norms across the entire continuum of emergency medical transportation.
These include ambulance categorisation; population-based deployment planning; human resource requirements; equipment, medicines and consumables; training and skill standards for emergency medical technicians (EMTs); infection prevention and control measures; vehicle maintenance protocols; performance monitoring systems; and grievance redressal mechanisms, the statement said.
The guidelines also mandate compliance of all ambulances with the AIS-125 standards, ensuring enhanced safety, quality and standardisation of emergency medical vehicles, it said.
The guidelines will promote the establishment of integrated command and dispatch centres (ICDCs) equipped with GPS-enabled ambulance tracking, call logging systems, structured triage protocols, standardised dispatch mechanisms and real-time performance dashboards, the statement said.
They also encourage the progressive integration of ambulance services with the unified emergency response number 112 across all states and UTs, enabling faster and more coordinated emergency response.
To further strengthen emergency referral systems, the guidelines envision GIS-enabled mapping of health facilities, referral centres, ambulance base locations, accident-prone and high-risk areas, bed availability and critical care readiness, the statement said.
This integrated approach will enable the dispatch teams to identify and transport patients to the most appropriate healthcare facility in the shortest possible time.
Recognising the importance of evidence-based planning, the guidelines recommend scientific ambulance deployment based on analysis of emergency call volumes, accident hotspots, referral patterns, traffic conditions, and terrain and geographical accessibility, thereby ensuring optimal utilisation of ambulance resources and improved response time, the statement said.
The release of the operational guidelines will mark a significant milestone in strengthening India’s emergency healthcare delivery system, it said.