Jaipur, July 10 -- In a move to decentralize advanced ENT healthcare in Rajasthan, the state government has directed divisional medical colleges to take the lead in training district-level specialists to provide cochlear implant treatment locally. A review meeting on ENT services in Rajasthan's government medical colleges highlighted key issues such as difficulties in conducting cochlear implant surgeries, lack of audiometry facilities, long treatment waiting lists, and shortage of trained audiologists and speech therapists. Secretary of the Medical Education Department, Ambrish Kumar said due to the heavy patient load at SMS Hospital, patients often face long waits for ENT-related treatment. In light of this, ENT facilities will be strengthened at all divisional headquarters, and training will be arranged. In medical colleges where ENT treatment machines are available but not being used due to a lack of human resources-or where staff is available but equipment is lacking-these gaps will be addressed. The official said that the procurement of machines and recruitment processes are currently underway at the NHM and Directorate levels. Approximately 48-50 audiologists and speech therapists are being recruited to implement the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness (NPPCD) in every district. Kumar directed that to reduce unnecessary referrals to SMS Hospital, the evaluation and eligibility process for patients should be ensured at the level of each medical college itself. To prevent patients from unnecessary travel and inconvenience, referral committees will be formed at the college level to determine eligibility for cochlear implants. It was decided in the meeting that in special cases where patients are forced to visit multiple hospitals repeatedly, such practices will be discontinued. For this, each medical college will establish a Standing Committee responsible for deciding which patients are suitable candidates for cochlear implants. This committee will be fully accountable and help eliminate unnecessary referrals. The referral system will be made transparent and simplified, and regular audits will be conducted to ensure timely and effective treatment for patients. He said advanced treatments such as cochlear implants are being provided free of cost by the government. Divisional medical colleges in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kota, Ajmer, and Bikaner will provide adequate training and technical support to ENT specialists in their subordinate district medical colleges to help introduce such advanced services there as well. The Medical Education Secretary emphasized the need to develop strong and accessible services across the state to address hearing impairment and other ENT-related issues....