Mumbai: The state public health department is surveying everything from major state and municipal hospitals to rural primary health centres to see if they actually have the tools and staff to handle increasing cases of chronic, non-communicable diseases.The survey is tracking shortages of glucometers, testing strips, oximeters, blood pressure apparatuses, weighing scales, spirometers, ECG machines, echocardiography equipment, waterbeds for palliative care wards, and tools to diagnose multiple types of cancer.State public health joint director Dr Archana Bhosale said the audit was being conducted to map out a baseline of the current infrastructure to plan future interventions. “All the logistics thereafter will be based on this. We want to focus on early detection and treatment so that the disease is controlled in time before it progresses,” she said.Dr Bhosale added that data collection has become simpler because of digitisation. A digital link has been created for health facilities to enter details of their current infrastructure as well as their requirements.The move comes just days after the latest NFHS-6 report showed concerning findings for the state. There is a sharp surge in obesity, with statewide rates now up to 31.1% for women and 32.8% for men; a massive jump from NFHS-5, where the prevalence of overweight or obese adults stood at 23.5% for women and 24.7% for men.High blood sugar levels have also increased, from 12.4% to 16.0% among women and from 13.6% to nearly 18% among men since NFHS-5. In urban populations, prevalence is 20.4% for men and 19.3% for women, while their rural counterparts stand at 16.4% and 14.1%, respectively.BMC has already asked its facilities to provide their deficit and requirement data to the state health department. “It would also be useful for the municipal corporation to start specific programs accordingly. We already have NCD corners across all our hospitals,” said Dr Omprakash Vallepawar, deputy executive health officer (NCD Cell).
