Bhubaneswar: Hospitals should not make persons with disabilities (PwDs) wait in queues, and priority access should be provided to them in accordance with government guidelines.
This was stated by State Commissioner for PwDs, Bratati Harichandan, during the third meeting of ‘SAKSHAMA’ held under her chairpersonship at the conference hall of the State Disability Commissioner’s Office, Satyanagar here Thursday.
During the meeting, Additional Director, Public Health, Rekha Bhagat, provided detailed information about the issuance of Unique Disability ID (UDID) cards to the differently-abled people in the state.
Also Read: Odisha announces launch of financial tech capability hub
She also stated that the Health and Family Welfare department is considering how to expedite the issuance of cards to those who have not received them.
On the occasion, the Disability Commissioner emphasised that hospitals should not make PwDs wait in queues and should provide them priority access in accordance with government guidelines.
Renowned paediatrician Aravinda Mohanty presented detailed information about various government schemes and strongly advocated for setting up a facilitation centre in every block to ensure easy access to assistive devices for the differently-abled people.
Director of Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (SVNIRTAR), Patitapaban Mohanty, shared details of various schemes and training programmes available at the institution for PwDs.
In an in-depth discussion, several differently-abled people also actively participated. District social security officers from Khurda and Cuttack provided necessary information to the attendees.
At the end, the independent officer from the Commissioner’s office expressed gratitude to all officials, participants, and media representatives who attended the meeting.
The officer welcomed all attendees at the beginning of the meeting. Harichandan then explained the purpose of the meeting, after which Danish Mahajan, founder of Radio Udaan, joined via videoconference and gave a presentation on various disability-related developments from India and abroad.
The meeting was also attended by Prof Smruti Smaain, Head of ENT at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack.
PNN
