As many cities battle rising levels of toxic air, the Centre has issued an updated advisory to all states and Union territories asking them to ensure chest clinics in government health facilities and medical colleges under its National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) to tackle air pollution-related diseases.
During the peak air pollution months (usually from September to March), the clinics are expected to function for a fixed duration of at least two hours daily. Issuing instructions for immediate action, the Union health ministry has sent 33-page guidelines to the states and Union territories stating that cases of respiratory and cardiac diseases tend to rise due to pollution and therefore, hospitals must maintain special preparedness.
These chest clinics can be established at community health centres, district hospitals, and medical colleges in urban areas, covering all such facilities in cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) initially. They will screen the patients for risk factors, confirm diagnosis, give treatment and long-term care to patients suffering from respiratory and heart diseases aggravated due to pollution, the advisory said.
The ministry also asked the facilities to maintain records of these patients through state or national level digital tools such as (Integrated Health Information Platform )
A register of individuals identified as being at high risk is to be maintained, and details of the high-risk individuals may also be shared with the respective blocks for community-based follow-up through ASHA, ANM, and CHO. The advisory called for training of doctors and staff to manage respiratory and cardiovascular cases, strengthening support to manage cases attributed to air pollution.
These clinics should also promote behaviour change and adoption of healthy practices to potential and diagnosed cases of air pollution-related cardio-pulmonary illnesses.
