We need a National Oxygen Grid for quick transportation: Health Minister Sudhakar

Shyam Sundar Vattam| NT

Bengaluru: One minister who was in the limelight when the Covid pandemic struck Karnataka was Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K. Sudhakar. The onerous responsibility of ensuring the best medical facilities including oxygen and beds for patients, fell on him and Dr Sudhakar, in an exclusive interview with News Trail, contends that he did his best though it was a challenging experience.

The pandemic years also saw a huge augmentation of health infrastructure with an additional 22,001 oxygenated beds, 1,248 high flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO) beds, 701 ICU beds and 1,548 beds with ventilators being created. In the biggest recruitment drive, 1763 doctors were added and the process was completed in a record six months

The doctor turned politician is candid enough to admit that the oxygen crisis was a big challenge. It has also brought to the fore the need to have something like a National Oxygen Grid for quick transportation, he says. Coming to politics, the young MLA from Chikkaballapura says there is no question of going back to the Congress as is being rumoured in some quarters.

''Ours is a double engine government, while the Congress party is a clueless 'double steering wheel' party with two leaders pulling it in opposite directions',' he quips. His vision for the health sector? ''Our aim is to make top quality healthcare available, accessible, and affordable to all. Be it implementation of telemedicine, teleICU or modernization of 108 ambulance service, the Karnataka govt is at the forefront in delivery of healthcare services,'' he adds. 

NT: How has been your journey as a minister in the BJP Government as some of your friends are talking of going back to the Congress Party?

Dr. K Sudhakar: I am very satisfied with the work I have been doing since the last three years as the minister of health and medical education. I am grateful to all my leaders and people of Karnataka for giving me this opportunity. I was the youngest cabinet minister in the previous Yediyurappa govt and I had to hit the ground running when a pandemic hit us. It was challenging and at the same time a great learning experience. Being a doctor myself, I had a fair understanding of the healthcare challenge that was striking at us at the beginning of the pandemic. When I look back, I feel satisfied about our state’s healthcare response to the pandemic. And despite the pandemic we have initiated several transforming initiatives in the health and medical education sectors. The question of going back to Congress doesn’t arise at all. Infact many more leaders from other parties are going to join the BJP in the coming days, especially in the Old Mysore Region.

NT: How was the healthcare sector prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in Karnataka? Has it improved since then?

Dr.K.S: If you compare the status of health infrastructure pre and post pandemic, it has undergone massive transformation. Let me quote data. In March 2020, the Department of Health and Family Welfare in Karnataka had only 1970 oxygenated beds, 444 ICU beds and 610 beds with ventilators. Over the past three years an additional 22,001 oxygenated beds, 1,248 high flow nasal oxygen therapy(HFNO) beds, 701 ICU beds and 1,548 beds with ventilators have been created. These facilities which were earlier restricted to district headquarters have been extended upto Taluk and CHC levels. We have four new medical colleges coming up in Yadgir, Chikmagalur, Haveri and Chikkaballapura. Including the historic direct recruitment of 1750 doctors, the state government has recruited about 4,000 medical officers amidst the pandemic. This is historic because of three reasons. Firstly, this has been the biggest recruitment drive taken up by the Government for the Health department to recruit 1763 doctors at a time. Secondly, this is the first time that the Department of Health and Family Welfare has recruited doctors directly as KPSC was handling the recruitment process earlier. Thirdly, this is also one of the quickest hiring drives by the Government. This large recruitment drive was completed in a record time of 6 months. All these are unprecedented in the history of the state.

NT: Do you think that the Covid pandemic made us give top priority to healthcare as all successive governments had neglected this sector?

Dr.K.S: The pandemic brought the limelight to the healthcare sector not just in India but across the globe. Although I do not want to blame previous governments, it is certain that the pandemic exposed the gaps and shortfalls in our healthcare system be it physical infrastructure, manpower or the networks that need to be in place. For example, the oxygen crisis turned out to be a big challenge. While oxygen production capacity was never a