The 63rd meeting of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board was held at the Raj Bhavan here today under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik, Chairman of the Shrine Board.The meeting was attended by Dr. S. S. Bloeria, Dr. Ashok Bhan, Mr. H. L. Maini, Mr. Justice (Retd) Permod Kohli, Maj. Gen. (Retd) Shiv Kumar Sharma and Mr. B. B. Vyas, all Board Members; and Mr. B V R Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Mr. Umang Narula, Principal Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Dheeraj Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, Mr. Simrandeep Singh, designate Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, Dr. M. K. Kumar and Mr. Anshul Garg, Additional Chief Executive Officers.In a significant decision to further augment and upgrade the medical facilities for the pilgrims enroute Katra to Bhawan, the Board decided to establish a new fully equipped and staffed Medical Unit at Lambi Keri to cater to the medical exigencies in the Adhkuwari-Sanjichhat sector taking the total number of Medical Units to 8 on all the tracks. The Board also decided to create a new Medical Unit at Bhairon Temple at an estimated cost of Rs. 1 crore keeping in view the futuristic requirements.
Further, the skills of medical officers will be upgraded by organizing training programmes on Advanced Trauma Life Support for handling cardiac emergencies and trauma cases. A roster for regular trainings of the para-medical staff including Medical Assistants and Nursing Orderlies has also been formulated in consultation with experts from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital specially to strengthen the emergency medical response on the track.The Board decided to procure two more fully equipped Critical Care Ambulances for emergency evacuation of critical patients to the CHC Katra or the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Kakryal for treatment. Besides, heli-evacuation of critical cardiac and other seriously ailing patients from Sanjichhat and Panchhi Helipads to the Helipad at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University for specialisedmedical care at the Superspeciality Hospital, Kakryal quickly on the Board’s expenses was also approved. This significant decision could help in saving precious lives by drastically reducing response time in the golden hour, especially for cardiac cases and other critical patients.