New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) India lacks approximately 64 lakh paramedic staff, mostly in states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, a central government report revealed Friday.

"There is a total national shortage of approximately 64 lakh AHPs (Allied Health Professionals) with highest gaps in the states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh," the report of the National Initiative for Allied Health Sciences (NIAHS) observed.

The report, titled "From Paramedics to Allied Health Professionals: Landscaping the Journey and Way Forward", was released by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Paramedics in other parts of the world are usually professionals providing emergency care and ambulance services.

"It is imperative to standardise a comprehensive definition of AHPs along with a defined career pathway, salary structure and cadre formation to ensure their growth prospects," the report noted.

The report said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare aims to address the shortage by establishing one national and eight regional institutes of allied health science across the country.

The report also recommended that new methods of teaching and training should be introduced in the public sector to keep up with changing technologies and new age educational methods such as e-learning, web tools, SIM models and others.

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