EDICs also set up in Tura, Jowai and Nongstoin
SHILLONG: Minister of Health and Family Welfare, A.L. Hek, on Tuesday expressed concern over the problem of inadequate manpower in the State Health department.
Hek voiced his concern while addressing a gathering of doctors and Health officials after inaugurating the Early Diagnostic and Intervention Centre (EDIC) attached to the ENT Department for assessment of the hearing handicapped at Shillong civil hospital.
Besides EDIC, Shillong Centre, EDICs have also been set up in West Khasi Hills, West Jaintia Hills and West Garo Hills districts, attached to their respective civil hospitals.
“There is inadequacy of manpower in the Health department and I hope that these four centres will have sufficient manpower as there is a need to open more of such centres in other districts as well.”
As to the complaints received by the Health department, he said, “Many health centres have been opened from time to time and inaugurated, but after a few months we receive complaints from these centres. I hope that complaints do not arise in the future.”
Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, C. Kharkongor said children with hearing impairment face various kinds of problems and added that the centre would be of great help to them. “The parents are urged to come to these centres and have a medical checkup of their wards for free if they suspect their child to have hearing impairment,” Kharkongor said.
Earlier, Project Director & State Coordinator, State Resource Centre Shillong, B. Mawlong said the State Resource Centre has been conducting screening programmes and health camps and for the past three years during which we registered 446 cases while 7000 certificates have been issued for hearing impaired people in the State as a whole.
It may be mentioned that these centres are equipped with diagnostic facilities including pure tone audiometers, impedance audiometers with Tympanometry, auditory steady state response and brainstem evoked response Audiometry. Also, to get accurate and effective test results for assessing hearing impairment, sound proof treatment room have also been set up in all the four centres.
Meanwhile, a similar special centre was also inaugurated at Tura civil hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
The centre has come up through a scheme sponsored by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with the SSIRPD, State Resource Centre, Shillong civil hospital.
West Garo Hills District Medical and Health Officer, Dr. Marwin Sangma, inaugurated the centre in the presence of Dr. Minakshi A Sangma, Superintendent of Tura civil hospital, ENT specialist Dr. Inbert C. Marak, representatives from Education department, Bethany Society, Montfort Centre of Education and other medical officers and staff of the Tura civil hospital.