Covid-19: Delhi govt begins course to train 5,000 health assistants
According to the official data, as many as 150,000 people had applied for the 5,000 posts which were open for anyone above 18 years of age and completed schooling.
As part of its preparation for a potential third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Delhi government, in collaboration with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) or IP University, on Monday began a certificate course to train 5,000 health assistants in Covid-related care to assist doctors and nurses in hospitals and also support communities in case of medical emergencies.
According to the official data, as many as 150,000 people had applied for the 5,000 posts which were open for anyone above 18 years of age and completed schooling. The project was announced by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on June 16 to build a force of 5,000 “community nursing assistants” in the Capital to help medical professionals.
The two-week course was launched by Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Monday. “We want to create a model youth force in Delhi that will be equipped with all the basic skills and knowledge to fight any medical crisis. Not only will our youth be prepared to fight any crisis, but they will also be able to provide medical assistance to their family and people in their community,” he said
“Within a matter of four days, 1.5 lakh people applied to be a part of this training programme. This indicates that people are enthusiastic to be a part of this course and learn. While we have inducted 5,000 trainees in the first batch, we plan on scaling this and making it a long-term, ongoing initiative,” Sisodia added.
Officials from nine Delhi government hospitals, including Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital, Chacha Nehru Child clinic, Sanjay Gandhi hospital, Ambedkar Medical college, ESIC Hospital Basaidarapur, Hindu Rao hospital, and Vardhaman Mahavir hospital, will train the selected applicants.
The Delhi government has disbursed an amount of ₹5 crore for this initiative.
The two-week-long programme has been divided into two stages – the first week will include didactic and demonstrative training, while trainees will receive practical experience in the second week. IP University vice-chancellor (VC) Mahesh Verma said the initiative is being taken because of shortage of medical staff witnessed during the first and second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Under this programme, these health assistants will be trained in basic nursing, paramedical, lifesaving, first aid home care, sample collection, and operating oxygen concentrators, cylinders, and other such tasks. After the successful completion of the training programme, they will be awarded a certificate and a medical kit, consisting of a BP measuring machine, pulse oximeter, digital thermometer, etc, by the university,” he said.
Health minister Satyendar Jain said that the certificate course will be extremely important to tackle any future medical crises. “This course will be able to provide individuals with employment opportunities, considering there is an increasing need of health assistants in hospitals who will be able to assist nurses and doctors,” he said.