In a bid to revolutionise rural emergency medical response, the state government in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Christian Medical College (CMC), Ludhiana, has launched Mission Swasth Kavach, a pioneering initiative to strengthen emergency care across rural areas.
The project, part of the National Health Research Priority, aims to decentralise life-saving skills and create a robust Emergency Medical Services (EMS) framework at the grassroots level, ensuring that no medical emergency in villages goes unattended.
Under the initiative, a block-level cascade training programme was successfully conducted in Manupur block, bringing together the district administration, health authorities and academic researchers in a rare synergy.
DC Himanshu Jain; Civil Surgeon Dr Ramandeep Kaur; District Family Welfare Officer Dr Amanpreet Kaur and senior medical officers joined hands with the State Health Department and Block Education Officer to empower frontline health workers.
The workshop focused on equipping ASHA workers, auxiliary nurse midwives and Community Health Officers, the backbone of rural healthcare, with practical tools and knowledge. Each Health and Wellness Centre (Ayushman Arogyam Mandir) was provided with two low-cost CPR manikin kits for hands-on practice and educational flipcharts for community engagement, ensuring sustainability of the programme.
The curriculum was designed around the critical “platinum minutes” of medical emergencies.
