Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar has launched National Emergency Life Support (NELS) courses for doctors, nurses and paramedics.

Apart from the training modules, the programme also includes developing training infrastructure in all States/UTs to implement the NELS course and creating a cadre of trainers to train doctors, nurses and paramedics working in emergency departments of the hospitals and ambulance services.

The Minister has requested the states to send proposals for establishing NELS Skill Centres at their medical colleges and urged all skill centres to ensure that training is not only operationalised but also utilised to the maximum extent to improve the quality of emergency care services in the State. She also requested Disaster Management Cell to regularly interact with participating institutions and monitor their activities to make this a successful initiative.

The activities under the NELS entail developing emergency life support training modules for doctors, nurses and paramedics after experts’ consultations and based on the Indian context, setting up and equipping skill centres in medical colleges under Center/States to impart skill-based training on emergency life support for all categories of health functionaries, 120 skills centres to be established under SFC (FY: 2021-26) (out of which 90 skill centres are in various stage of development). The initiative will lead to the creation of a pool of trained doctors, nurses and paramedics in the country with skills to provide standardised emergency life support and reduce mortality due to medical emergencies.