Cuttack, May 11: The state government has decided to connect SCB Medical College and Hospital's central intensive care unit (ICU) with other district headquarters hospitals under the Odisha Telemedicine Network.

As part of the proposal to improve medical services in remote areas, the government will shortly set up e-ICU telecare services by connecting functional ICUs at 10 district hospitals in the state.

Doctors of the SCB Medical College and Hospital will train nurses and other paramedics working in the ICUs at various parts of the state as part of the initiative. The training programme will help save lives through timely treatment and advice in emergency situations.

Official sources said the network would connect district headquarters hospitals in Balasore, Baripada, Kalahandi, Puri, Balangir, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Capital Hospital (Bhubaneswar).

"The programme will help train the paramedics and also benefit critically-ill patients. Doctors at these hospitals will be able to use the services to seek a second opinion on existing diseases or emergency situations from the experts at the SCB," said state nodal officer for Odisha Telemedicine Network B.N. Mohanty.

The doctors at the district hospitals will be able to seek suggestion on the condition of patient through teleconference using portable equipment mounted on trolleys.

Mohanty said two new telemedicine centres would shortly come up at Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC) and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute for Paediatrics (Sishu Bhavan) in Cuttack.

These centres will benefit thousands of patients as they can now seek medical advice and have necessary follow-up from the doctors in Cuttack from their respective district headquarters hospitals.

An AHRCC official said the new initiative would help in cancer treatment at the district hospitals.

The doctors can monitor the condition of patients through teleconferencing.

Telemedicine uses telecommunication tools to provide medical information and service by an expert from a distance.

It involves transfer of medical data, pictures, images, video for use in diagnosis, treatment and medical education.

At present, there are 34 functional telemedicine centres, including three government medical colleges and hospitals - SCB, VSS Medical College in Burla, MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. That apart, Health and Family Welfare Institute in Bhubaneswar and 30 district-level centres form the network.

The existing telemedicine complex at the SCB Medical College and Hospital will shortly be upgraded into a Telemedicine Resource Centre to provide round-the-clock training and education to doctors, paramedics, technicians and health workers across peripheral health institutions.