Kozhikode: Kerala has marked yet another pioneering innovation in the field of public healthcare. Health Ministry along with Meitra Hospital has successfully set up the state’s first Tele-ICU at Beach Hospital, Kozhikode. Meitra Hospital will be leading the deployment of the clinical & technological expertise, while Faizal & Shabana Foundation will financially support the recurring operations of this initiative. The official launch took place on the auspicious occasion of Kerala Piravi, in the presence of Honorable Health Minister Ms. K K Shailaja, MLA Pradeep Kumar, District Collector Mr. Sambasiva Rao IAS, Superintendent of Beach Hospital Mr. Ummer Farook, District Programme Manager - National Health Mission Dr. A Naveen, Meitra Hospital Chairman Mr. Faizal E Kottkollon, Meitra Hospital CEO Dr. P Mohanakrishnan. 

Government General Hospital, also known as Beach Hospital becomes the first member of Meitra Hospital’s mission to upgrade and equip healthcare with technology & bridge an acute shortage of intensivists in the country. The initiative is not just expected to address the deficient number of specialists but will offer a range of critical care facilities ensuring better health outcomes, risk - reduction of medication errors, and infection control, through pro-active round-the-clock monitoring.

“The initiative is intended to turn the healthcare system into a giant ecosystem. There is a shortage of Intensivists and the current pandemic has laid open the gap and exposed the vulnerabilities at a global level. It is the right time to leverage technological innovations to solve healthcare challenges, by giving the doctors more digital solutions in their armamentarium. Meitra Hospital has always prided itself on being at the forefront of healthcare innovations. We are happy to be partnering with the Health Ministry to bring the latest technological advancements to the state to serve the people better,” said Faizal E Kottikollon, Chairman, Meitra Hospital & Founder Chairman, KEF Holdings.

“There are more than 3 lac ICU beds, but less than 5000 intensivists in the country. The gap is huge & cannot be left unaddressed especially when it comes to life-saving critical care treatments. Technology advancements have ensured that we can now democratize quality healthcare and bring it closer to people through wider access. Our Tele-ICU setup is a proud Made-in-India solution that is at par with global standards. Our team of intensivists will monitor the Tele-ICUs from our Command Center based at Meitra Hospital which will offer round-the-clock monitoring of critical care patients. We have also trained the staff at Beach Hospital so that they stay abreast of the new technology” informed Dr. P Mohanakrishnan, CEO, Meitra Hospital.

Meitra hospital stands committed to providing quality healthcare in the country. This step towards creating a network of Tele-ICUs in the region once again reiterates its commitment towards its people. The hospital will be extending this facility to a host of other hospitals in the region to bridge the doctor-gap and make their ICUs more robust, efficient, and better adept at handling diverse kinds of critical care patients, a release said.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.

“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.

The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.

Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.

“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.

“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.

In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.

“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.

The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.

According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.

On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.