Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Wednesday said the government is planning to set up stroke units in 12 districts of the state and stroke rehabilitation centres have been started in all district hospitals.
Muraleedharan was responding to the issue raised by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA A K M Ashraf in the House regarding an increase in stroke cases especially among the youth after Covid pandemic in the state.
Ashraf drew attention of the House to the increase in strokes among the youth and children in the current times, saying that the ailment was earlier seen only among those aged 60 years and above.
The MLA from Manjeshwar constituency said that the cost of treatment for stroke was expensive as the medicines were very costly.
He urged that stroke treatment and medicines be made available in all government hospitals along with a dedicated 24 hour stroke department.
Ashraf also sought that physiotherapy centres and physiotherapists for stroke patients were few in number in government hospitals and medical colleges.
He also urged the government to carry out post-COVID disease scanning camps in the state.
Terming the issue raised by Ashraf as important, Muraleedharan said that the government was taking steps to ensure immediate treatment to stroke patients.
He said some of the main contributors of stroke were lack of exercise, certain dietary habits, cholesterol, etc.
Some reports even claim that COVID has also contributed to an increase in instances of the disease, but the same has to be confirmed through scientific experiments and studies, the minister said.
However, as of now, the government was planning to set up stroke units in 12 districts of the state, except Wayanad and Malappuram where the facility can be provided in the medical colleges there, he said.
He also said that stroke and thrombolytic treatment are available in all district hospitals.
Additionally, steps have been taken to procure tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) 50 mg medicine, used for stroke treatment, through the National Health Mission funds and distribute it to all concerned centres, Muraleedharan told the House.
He further said that the government was considering treating medical colleges as hubs and district or general hospitals as spokes for treatment of stroke patients.
The minister said that stroke rehabilitation units have been started in all district hospitals and robotic rehabilitation is also being considered for implementation in medical colleges.
