Health department to set up 1,000 rehydration points across Tamil Nadu
This initiative is being taken during the review meeting with the Chief Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu, as part of heat wave preparedness across the State.
Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (File Photo)
CHENNAI: The State Health Department through the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine will be setting up Rehydration Points for distributing ORS until June 30, 2024 at 1,000 places across the State at a cost of Rs 2.17 crores worth ORS packets.
This initiative is being taken during the review meeting with the Chief Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu, as part of heat wave preparedness across the State.
The Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Dr T S Selvavinayagam, instructed the district health officers to ensure that ORS corner is made available in all health facilities for the public in order to avoid dehydration resulting in morbidity and mortality due to heat related illness throughout the summer.
The district health officers have also been asked to co-ordinate with the local body who are organizing rehydration points and make necessary arrangements for providing ORS to the public beneficiaries.
They should also ensure that the allotted number of ORS packets per camp should be available at their respective rehydration points throughout the heat wave period.
The location of these rehydration points will be finalized by the local bodies and district administration.
With daily peak temperature increasing and intense heat waves becoming increasingly frequent globally due to climate change, the extreme temperature and resultant atmospheric conditions can adversely affect people.
It can cause various Heat Related Illnesses (HRI), physiological stress, sometimes resulting in death.
Thus, rehydration points are being planned across the State.
The district level officers will also ensure the availability of ORS corners with readymade ORS solution as well as frequent refilling once it gets empty through the block medical officer.
The quality and safety of using safe drinking water should be provided by the local bodies.
In order to monitor the availability of the ORS stock in the respective districts, Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation has been asked to procure ORS to the TNMSC warehouse and to make timely lift of the ORS packets as and when required.
Also Read: Heatwave: CM Stalin directs officials to take immediate measures to address drinking water scarcity
