Shillong (Meghalaya), Dec 19: In a historic move aimed at revolutionizing critical healthcare services in the State, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today, Dec 19, 2023, inaugurated the 10 Bed ICU project and Tele-ICU Hub , which also includes the establishment of 14 technologically equipped 10-bedded ICU wards distributed across 12 district hospitals, along with two Tele-ICU Hubs spanning the entire state.
The event also featured a live screening of the 10 BedI CU launch video and Tele-ICU consultations between Jenjjal Hub Specialist and a doctor at Williamnagar/Jowai District Hospital by Dr. Suzie Paul Francis. A demo video also showcased CARE-AI Nurse Assistant, CARE-AI transcription engine, and smart ICU.
Speaking at the launch event, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma emphasized the government’s steadfast dedication to prioritizing healthcare. He highlighted the substantial increase in the healthcare budget, making Meghalaya the pioneer in terms of healthcare investment among states in the country within just five years. The Chief Minister expressed the government’s commitment to harnessing the power of CARE-AI to micromanage the details of every patient, enabling healthcare professionals to obtain groundwork.
“While the 10BedICU is a significant step forward, we are laying the foundation for a massive database that will not only be reactive but also preventative. The integration of AI in healthcare is the most exciting part of this initiative and will undoubtedly have a profound impact on reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in the state,” Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma added. ‘’
He further affirmed the state’s commitment to technological advancement, stating, “With regards to technological advancement, Meghalaya has a massive and huge optical fiber program for its IT portfolio. The state has finalized connectivity down to the ground level, including Community Health Centers (CHC) and Primary Health Centers (PHC), in a phased manner. We are on track to establish our data center very soon.”
Sangma outlined the timeline for achieving comprehensive connectivity, stating, “Within the next 12 to 15 months, 90% of all our administrative units and health units will be connected through an optical fibre. Additionally, we have successfully inaugurated a 5000-seater IT park, which is now 100% occupied. The plan is to expand the capacity and we invite companies to set up operations in Shillong and offer substantial incentives for those who choose to be part of our burgeoning IT ecosystem.”
The Chief Minister’s speech was followed by an interactive session between Mr Khosla, Founder of Partner Khosla Venture, CM Conrad Sangma, and Mr Nandan Nilekani, Founder CEO Aadhar and Chairman of INFOSYS.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Secretary, Donald Phllips Wahlang, IAS, in his speech, highlighted the setup of 10BedICU in 14 hospitals across the state and urged the health department to take monumental steps. He acknowledged the challenges in a few hospitals and stressed the need for trained nurses and ICU technicians.
“We need to be prepared from the very start for a lot of training, capacity building, and follow-ups,” said Mr Donald Phllips Wahlang. He emphasized the government’s focus on the social sector and its commitment to enhancing healthcare infrastructure to meet the community’s evolving needs.
Health Minister Dr. Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh emphasized the significance of the project in enhancing healthcare accessibility for every citizen in Meghalaya, she stated, ‘’The state today faces serious issues with cancer treatment, dialysis and kidney related issues, and non-communicable disease treatment, and this is where technology can prove valuable to save the lives of individuals,” she added.
It may be mentioned that the 10BedICU project was started in Mar 2021 in the wake of the Covid-19 delta wave spike in India, in order to create critical care ICU infrastructure in rural and smaller government hospitals. They have created over 200 10BedICUs in government hospitals in 9 states of the country. This is a private-public-partnership, where the 10BedICU group finances the capital expenditure of the project by providing the ICU medical equipment, CARE software system, the TeleICU technology infrastructure, clinical and systems training and community participation support.
Highlighting the importance of the occasion and the government’s efforts to overcome geographic challenges in healthcare, Principal Secretary of the Health & Family Welfare Department, Mr Sampath Kumar, stated, “Today is a very important occasion, and as Meghalaya has geographic challenges, the government is trying to leverage and mobilize the workforce. “In the last 3-4 years, we have seen some significant results through the innovative approaches adopted by the State to solve health challenges. We have been able to reduce maternal deaths in the state by about 40 per cent. For achieving the mentioned state vision, collaboration with key stakeholders is crucial to bring innovative solutions to existing problems, such as the launch of 10BedICU taking place today. This will greatly help the health systems to look beyond geographical challenges and overcome them.”
A veteran entrepreneur and founder-CTO of the Aadhaar project, Srikanth Nadhamuni, underscored the critical issues faced by remote hospitals, stating, “Besides the lack of critical care equipment, the biggest issue for these remote hospitals is the shortage of specialist doctors and nurses.”He said it was clear that we needed to work with government hospitals to improve ICU capacity in rural areas.
Meanwhile, commenting on the 10BedICU initiative, Khosla Ventures Founder Partner Vinod Khosla virtually congratulated the state as a whole and said that given the healthcare challenges, he was happy to see the launch in the state. He also said that there is a need for cutting-edge technology and network access to improve healthcare in rural India. “10BedICU’s vision of connecting the urban centres, which have better facilities and specialists, to rural/taluka hospitals using technology is a practical way to deliver critical care to rural India,” said Khosla Ventures Founder Partner Vinod Khosla.
