The health department is opening district early intervention centres in all 38 districts to take specialist care closer to children.
The initiative is part of the Centre’s Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) under National Rural Health Mission.
The centres would be well equipped and comprise a 13-member team. There would be a medical officer, dentist, physiotherapist, audiologist and speech therapist, a psychologist, optometrist, early interventionist-cum-special educator-cum social worker and lab technician apart from RBSK manager and a data operator. Sources from the state health society said the centres would come up in this financial year.
They would promptly respond to hearing and vision impairment cases, neuromotor disorders, speech problems, autism and cognitive impairment. The centres would be equipped to conduct hearing, vision and neurological tests and make behavioural assessment, said a source from the state health society.
Child health screening and early intervention services will be provided. These will help halt further deterioration of health and cut treatment expenses in the long run.
“The Union government’s decision to open district early intervention centres (DEIC) assumes significance in the context of Bihar because there is a huge shortage of doctors at primary health centres. Very few Primary Health Centres have specialists, thus adding to the woes of children who suffer from chronic disorders and do not find quality treatment at PHCs.
Officials said there were around 47,724,143 children in the 0-18 age group. That is about 46 per cent of state’s total population. “The Union government issued directives to all states regarding this in February. We are soon going to float tenders for different posts of DEICs,” said another source from the state health society. The benefit to children apart, opening of DEIC will help create more jobs as every DEIC would have a 13-member team, he further said.
“Developing infrastructure for each DEIC would cost Rs 10 lakh, which the Union government would provide. We’ve been asked to build a four-room structure for each DEIC, but this will take time. So, initially, we will run DEICs at district hospitals,” the source said.
