Jengjal Sub Divisional Hospital run by The Garo Hills Adventist Mission Hospital (GHAMH) became the first hospital in India to use Drones for Medical Services – It is a great achievement and a blessing to have such high-tech medical service in a rural area.
On December 05, 2022, a weird bird whirred into a place called Pedaldoba in the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. The local Garo people looked up in awe and welcomed it with loud cheers. This weird bird is called a Drone.
This special drone was inaugurated by Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister and the Health Ministry of the Government of Meghalaya. A medical drone hub was started for the delivery of medicines, vaccines, blood units, blood samples, and anti-venom injections and medicines in Garo Hills, Meghalaya. The alien – an unmanned aerial vehicle, came with medicines for the first time on December 5, 2022, to the local primary health center in Garo (PHC) after a 40-minute sortie (flight) from Jengjal, 68 km away. It was front-page news in many leading newspapers.
While inaugurating the drone station, Mr James Sangma, Health Minister, Government of Meghalaya, said, the medical drone service is unparalleled to any other kind of technological service available in this remote area and is a great pride not just for this area but the entire state. We have become the first state to institutionalize this service. “This is a beautiful example of how technology could be leveraged to bring about better healthcare services to people and meet their health needs,” he concluded.
A Drone Medical Service is like an unmanned helicopter medical service with technological support. Dr Denyl Joshua, CMO, GHAMH, said that the drone will provide emergency medicine and vaccines to the people who live in remote areas in Garo Hills and will help take and bring diagnostic samples, and blood units, from far-flung areas for tests.
Funded by the World Bank, the drone service is a joint initiative of the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project and Techeagle, a start-up. Techeagle’s co-founder Anshu Abhishek claimed this is Asia’s first drone station that caters exclusively to the delivery of healthcare items. The route is pre-determined and the entire flight — from take-off to delivery and return to base — is GPS-based, he said.
S Ramkumar, Additional Secretary of Health and Family Welfare, told The New Indian Express, the drone has a payload capacity of 3-5 kgs. “We now have two drones meant for the delivery of vaccines, medicines, and emergency kits. But we will use bigger drones from March next year. They will have the capacity to carry a payload of 20-25 kgs,” he said.
For the time being, the Health Department has planned five to eight sorties every day at five healthcare centres in 3 districts. “For a car, it will take about three and half hours for the round trip to Pedaldoba from Jengjal. The drone will do it much faster,” Ramkumar said.
“There are some red zones and our plan is to have 3 drone stations so we can cover more inaccessible areas. The delivery of medicines using drones is not just cost-effective but it also saves a lot of time,” he added.
Mr Chesrang Momin a resident of Jengjal was hugely relieved when he heard of this service. I have to often go to the district headquarters, Tura, 101 km away, to get my dad’s blood pressure medications. But now, because of the drone station at the Jengjal Sub-divisional Hospital, I will no longer need to make this long arduous journey, he said joyfully. The drone station has ensured a healthcare delivery system even in the remotest areas of the verdant but difficult Garo Hills.
Drs Denyl and Dorothy Joshua, PG Alumni, Department of Paediatrics Christian Medical College, Vellore responded to God’s call to go to support the medical work in rural Garo Hills. Drs Denyl and Dorothy—the Medical Missionary couple started this hospital from scratch with almost nothing and now with the hard work and services of their entire team, brought this hospital to the great heights it has now reached. Their services are greatly appreciated by the government of Meghalaya, the civic leaders, the Adventist Church leaders, lay members, and the people of Garo Hills. Denyl and Dorothy have worked relentlessly and together with God’s help have brought quality healthcare to Garo Hills.
|Denyl Joshua| Medical Director, Garo Hills Adventist Mission Hospital