Knee, hip replacement surgeries now available in 39 govt hospitals across K’taka: Dinesh Gundu Rao
Bengaluru: Knee and hip replacement surgeries are now being carried out in 39 government hospitals across Karnataka, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, he said such surgeries were earlier available in only 17 government hospitals. With the addition of 22 more government medical colleges and taluk hospitals, the service has now been expanded across the state.
The minister said that in the past, even government hospitals used to refer patients to private hospitals for knee and hip joint replacement procedures. However, the surgeries are now being performed in government institutions themselves.
Citing data for the 2023-24 financial year, he said that out of 1,709 knee and hip replacement surgeries conducted, only 601 cases, or 35 per cent, were performed in government hospitals, while 1,108 cases, or 65 per cent, took place in private hospitals. He said this reflected a high dependence on private healthcare facilities.
He added that specialist surgeons are now providing dedicated training to doctors in government hospitals. As a result, government doctors have already started independently performing these surgeries successfully.
Earlier, patients had to travel 300 to 500 kilometres for treatment. With advanced surgical facilities now available at district and taluk levels, patients can save both time and expenses, he said.
The minister also announced that a helpline has been launched by Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust to provide guidance regarding knee and hip replacement surgeries in government hospitals. Patients can contact 18004258330 for assistance, counselling and decision-making support.
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Punjab: 15-year-old girl gives birth to baby months after alleged rape
Chandigarh (PTI): A 15-year-old girl has delivered a baby in Jalandhar, months after she was allegedly raped by a boy in Amritsar, police said on Thursday.
The class 9 student has been living with her aunt in Jalandhar for the past seven months, said the aunt who filed the complaint of rape to the police.
When contacted over phone on Thursday, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Phillaur, Bharat Masih said, "We have registered a Zero FIR in the matter as the alleged rape took place in Amritsar.." He said the accused is 16 years old.
The victim's aunt said in her complaint that a month and a half back, the teenager complained of abdominal pain, due to which, she was taken for a checkup to a private doctor in Jalandhar's Nurmahal. The doctor prescribed some medicines, she said.
On April 19, the girl complained of severe abdominal pain, after which she took the teenager to a private hospital in Phillaur in Jalandhar. The doctor there referred the girl to another hospital, where she was told that she was pregnant.
Later, she gave birth to a baby in the hospital. When the girl's aunt asked her about her pregnancy, she said that a boy in Amritsar who lived in her locality had raped her, the complainant said.
A police station under Jalandhar Rural police jurisdiction has registered a Zero FIR in the matter and the boy has been booked under relevant provisions of the POCSO Act and the BNS on April 20, police said.
A Zero FIR is an FIR that can be filed in any police station, irrespective of place of incident/jurisdiction and the same can be later transferred to the appropriate police station.
