The Indian armed forces have roped in Battlefield Nursing Assistants (BFNA) to help fight the second wave of COVID-19 and have suggested that a similar model can be followed by state governments and hospitals, according to senior officials.
Lieutenant General Madhuri Kanitkar, the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Medical), believes that BFNAs can also train young volunteers to assist other trained nurses of administrative duties so that they can be gainfully utilised for other important duties in the fight against the pandemic.
The armed forces are pulling out all available resources to increase its ‘Op CO-JEET’, which is a joint effort of the Army, the IAF, and the Navy against this pandemic.
BFNAs are trained in providing basic health care facilities in circumstances that include administering injections and helping in breathing exercises, Lt Gen Kanitkar said. She also said that a large number of BFNAs who are trained in basic medical care has been brought in for COVID-19 management.
This move is part of the concerted efforts to upgrade the facilities of armed forces’ hospitals which are being run beyond their capacity by the depleted medical manpower, she added.
