Shillong, June 28: The state government has decided to seek Centre’s support to further strengthen health centres across Meghalaya.

Talking to media persons after chairing a review meeting on Thursday, Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said that she would be visiting New Delhi next week to call on the new Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and present the needs of the state.

She said there is a need for the government of India to give special focus on Meghalaya considering that services provided by institutions like sub centres, PHCs, CHCs – which are in distant locations, are still inadequate.

“So the government of Meghalaya wants to bring this before the union ministry so that we may get adequate funding to further strengthen our tertiary care centre, PHCs, CHCs and sub centres,” Lyngdoh said.

Stating that the health centres are also faced with the problem of acute shortage of manpower, the minister said, “As a department we have collected all the information. Many vacancies are yet to be sanctioned in these various facilities so that is also a serious concern for us because everywhere that I go during my inspections and visits, I have seen there is always an acute shortage of staff.”

“I have also apprised the chief minister on this matter and I await that the sanctioning of these posts is done in a fast track mode otherwise our facilities will suffer,” she said while adding “Sometimes the smallest of requirements like drivers, ward assistance or multitasking personnel, let alone the technical staff like lab attendance, OT attendance and various other vacancies that are urgently required to make these facilities fully functional.”

Further, Lyngdoh informed that “a partial petition has already been made by the department of health to the personnel and finance departments for the necessary sanctioning and necessary notes for these various vacancies”

The minister further stated that the meeting also discussed the need to ensure that the personnel of the health department like doctors and other specialised staff should be able to function primarily as doctors or designated posts like lab attendance and nurses as “the administrative work that is put on the shoulders of these staff usually distract them from the actual commitment of services for the people.”

In regards to issue of dilapidated condition of the roads leading to the health centres, Lyngdoh said, “I have requested the officers to immediately look at all of the road sectors that we can initiate discussion with the deputy chief minister in charge PWD that we can ensure that this also doesn’t become a reason why centres are not functioning efficiently.”

“We also have power issues in certain facilities and we have been assured by the chief minister in an earlier discussion that we must converge and have alternative power services installed in all of these centres so that there is no stagnation of work due to non availability of power supply,” she added.

Read: Meghalaya to push Centre to decare NEIGRIHMS as an ‘Institute of National Importance’

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