‘Inexperienced association unable to provide medical assistance’
SHILLONG: The Joint action Committee (JAC) Mawsynram Border Area has demanded the immediate removal of the Voluntary Health Association of Meghalaya (VHAM) alleging anomalies in its functioning at Dangar primary health centre.
In this connection, a delegation of the JAC met Health & Family Welfare Minister A.L. Hek on Thursday to apprise him of the failure of the VHAM, claiming that the association had failed in its duties to provide medical services to the people.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, JAC chairman Kyllang S. Thongni said, “VHAM is inexperienced. There is shortage of staff at the PHC and they are unable to give medical attention during emergency.”
In a memorandum to the Health minister, the JAC mentioned that the VHAM was unable to provide certain medicines to the patients since most of the medicines were not available with them.
The memorandum stated that local residents were facing hardships under the jurisdiction of Dangar PHC as they were unable to obtain birth and death certificates from the PHC.
“There is a delay of three to four months for any person to get birth and death certificate from the PHC due to non-availability of a doctor for almost two months,” the JAC claimed.
“The agency has wrongly administered medicines to children from 1 year to 19 years resulting in the illness of four children,” Thongni further claimed.
The minister assured them that the agency will be removed and replaced with a Gurgaon based NGO called Vedanta.
It was learnt that the NGO would be put on trial basis for six months.