Hands-on training of HCWs at AIIMS-Patna awaits state govt nod

The state government has already decided in principle to nominate AIIMS-Patna as the centre of excellence for paediatrics management of Covid-19, in anticipation of the third wave of the pandemic.

The state health department is yet to firm up the physical training schedule in paediatrics intensive care unit (PICU) management for its doctors and nurses in preparation for the anticipated third wave of coronavirus affecting children.

Around 600 doctors and nurses from the state health department have undergone online training through experts from Patna’s AIIMS so far. (HT File)

Around 600 doctors and nurses from the state health department have undergone online training through experts from Patna’s All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) so far. However, hands-on training of the shortlisted health personnel is awaited at AIIMS, as the State Health Society, Bihar, is yet to confirm the schedule.

“We are in the process of finalising the framework of shortlisting health personnel to be sent for the physical training at AIIMS-Patna. We will share the schedule after we finalise it,” said a government functionary in the know of the programme.

The state government has already decided in principle to nominate AIIMS-Patna as the centre of excellence for paediatrics management of Covid-19, in anticipation of the third wave of the pandemic.

“We shall release the online training module for trainees tomorrow (Tuesday). Those who perform well will be shortlisted for the physical training, in consultation with the state government,” said Dr Lokesh Tiwari, additional professor and head, paediatrics department at the AIIMS-Patna.

The AIIMS proposes to shortlist 125-odd health personnel for physical training. Of this, 50% will be paediatricians and 50% nurses. The shortlisted candidates will be divided into four batches and each batch will have a week-long hands-on training at the institute.

“We propose to begin the week-long physical training in PICU management for each of the four batches from August 31. The training session will continue for a month. However, we are awaiting confirmation of the training schedule from the state health department,” added Dr Tiwari.

The idea, he said, was to impart hands-on training in PICU management to at least two doctors and two nurses at every district hospital — there are 36 district hospitals in Bihar. These personnel, if needed, could then lead the paediatrics acute care unit at the district level. The remaining 475 health personnel, trained through online mode, would support them at the sub-divisional hospital and the community health centre levels.

“We will shortlist a few among the 125 health personnel selected for the physical training, to become trainers, who can then train others at the periphery level,” added Dr Tiwari.

The AIIMS sent reminders to the state health department before the online training of health personnel began on August 10.

The institute imparted online training to 600 state healthcare workers (HCWs) in five days between August 10 and 18. As many as 200 paediatricians from across all the nine state-run medical colleges were trained on August 10, the first day of the online training programme, while the remaining 400 doctors and nurses from district hospitals were trained over the remaining four days on August 12, 13, 17 and 18.

The AIIMS does not want the physical training of healthcare workers to be delayed any further.

Bihar reported 20 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 from 10 of its 38 districts on Sunday, taking the total number of Covid-19 cases to 725,588 and deaths 9,649. The number of active cases had come down to 140, with a recovery rate of 98.63%.