NEW DELHI: The Centre on Saturday hailed a project started in Ahmedabad - one of the country’s worst-hit cities by Covid-19 pandemic - in providing non-Covid essential healthcare services and identifying hidden coronavirus cases.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had launched mobile vans called 'Dhanvantri Rath' to aid people in need of essential healthcare services and identifying people with influenza-like illnesses, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

“Many of the large hospitals in the city have been dedicated for Covid-19 treatment. Hence, various measures have been taken to ensure that non-Covid essential services related to diabetes, blood pressure, heart ailment etc., are provisioned to people who cannot visit the hospitals."

One of the interventions adopted was the large scale deployment of the mobile medical vans with Ayush doctors, paramedics and nurses along with local medical officers from urban health centre of the AMC.

These vans have been visiting various areas and providing OPD services for non-Covid essential services and field medical consultations to people all over the city at their doorsteps, the government said.

The mobile medical vans carry all essential medicines including Ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines, vitamin supplements, basic testing equipment along with pulse Oxymeters.

“In addition, Dhanvantri Rath has helped identify those who need further clinical treatment or IPD admission, and ensured that they reach the hospital in time,” a statement also said.

There have been 120 such vans deployed across the city and have successfully conducted over 4.27 lakh OPDs consultations, so far.

The intervention has helped to successfully treat over 20,143 patients with fever and over 74,048 with cough, cold and coryza. Over 462 patients with severe respiratory tract infections were referred to urban health centres and hospitals for clinical treatment.

These vans referred other 826 patients with hypertension, diabetes and other co-morbidities for clinical treatment at the nearby urban health centres, community health centres, and hospitals.