Control centres to boost health infra: UP govt

New Delhi: Seeking to boost health system at the grass-roots level, the Uttar Pradesh government will soon launch a network of "24x7 control centres" across the state that will allow people to consult doctors through telephones.

State's health minister Siddharth Nath Singh said this late evening here, at a time when deaths of children in Gorakhpur and Farrukhabad hospitals have hogged headlines.

"When it comes to IMR (infant mortality rate), MMR (maternal mortality rate), we are perhaps one of the worst states. We have a shortage of 7,500 doctors and about 19,000 paramedical staff. But, we are committed to improve the situation," he said while addressing the valedictory session at 10th Medical Technology Conference.

At the event, hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and also attended by representatives from leading medical technology firms, the minister also invited them to invest in the state, saying "a red carpet and not red tapism await them in UP".

"So, we have this shortage of doctors and paramedical staff, and nothing but technology can change that scenario. In next two months, we will come out with a project, whereby command and control centres, working 24x7, will be set up at the five clusters spread across the state.