The Union ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship will launch a special training programme to create a workforce of about 100,000 professionals to meet the growing demand for healthcare workers in the wake of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, according to a ministry official familiar with the matter.
To facilitate the training, the ministry has identified 300 skill centres in 194 districts across 28 states with infrastructure in the healthcare sector. The ministry will also work to upskill existing healthcare professionals.
The workforce will be prepared for the pandemic’s third wave, according to the official. Emergency care support, basic care support, sample collection, home care support, advance care support, and medical equipment support are among the six sectors for which the ministry has identified a short-term course with a three-month on-the-job training.
Due to complaints from several states that medical equipment such as ventilators and oxygen concentrators have been lying unused in hospitals due to a lack of trained professionals, the course will also include medical equipment handling training. They’ll also learn how to keep track of patients’ medical records.
In over 500 districts, 20,000 ITI graduates have been identified to work at oxygen plants. They will be trained to instal, operate, maintain, and calibrate work at oxygen plants, mini oxygen concentrators, and ventilators 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to the official.
So far, the ministry has trained 175,000 workers in the healthcare sector under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY), who can work as frontline workers, and their information has been shared with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Another 150,000 people were trained in the same way under PMKVY 2.0. (a continuation of PMKVY in its second version).
These candidates will be trained to deal with medical emergencies in hospitals, makeshift clinics, and even at home. They will receive on-the-job training in government hospitals, as well as boarding and lodging and a $25,000 accident insurance policy.
Frontline workers who will be trained in basic care support will be taught how to use basic equipment such as oxygen concentrators, nebulizers, ECGs, and pulse oximeters, according to the official quoted above. They’ll also be taught how to perform last rites according to Covid-19 protocols. Emergency response, casualty assessment and triage, and making ambulances ready with equipment and consumables will all be covered under the category of home care support training.
