Health centres have unutilised equipment, infra: CAG
SHILLONG: The State government had been castigated many a time for ignoring the fledgling healthcare service and now a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General reveals that most of the district hospitals are in dire straits.
The CAG report has pointed out that many district hospitals lack basic equipment. It states that there was no Echo machine for cardiac tests in any of the five selected district hospitals.
Also, blood storage equipment were not available in three hospitals and three selected CHCs and X-Ray facilities were lacking in five selected hospitals.
The audit team also conducted a joint physical verification and it was found that operation theatres at Nongstoin and Nongpoh district hospitals were lying idle because of lack of specialist doctors.
In reply, the secretary of the Health Department said the OT at Nongpoh was used for sterilisation cases and not for other surgeries as there was no anaesthetist.
In the same hospital, it was found that an ultrasound machine was not registered as per the mandate of the PCPNDCT Act and hence could not be used.
To this, the health secretary said the registration of the machine is under process.
Similarly, an X-Ray machine at Bhoirymbong CHC remains unused as it is not registered. The report also observed that at Nongstoin and Nongpoh district hospitals, blood storage equipment was lying idle. The health secretary’s reply was that the blood bank was under construction.
In addition, a Rs 1.12-crore computerised tomography (CT) scan machine was installed in Tura district hospital in April 2006 but it has not functioned since its installation.
Ayush Hospital
A CAG report has revealed that a 10-bed Ayush Hospital at Bhoirymbong CHC has not started functioning though construction was completed in 2014.
As per the report, in 2012, the Centre sanctioned the hospital at a cost of Rs 2.54 crore – Rs 2.02 crore for construction and Rs 0.54 crore for procuring equipment and furniture.
After the hospital building was completed, it was handed over to the medical officer in charge of Bhoirymbong in October 2014.
Till the date of audit in July 2016, the Ayush OPD service was available and the hospital was not fully functional, the CAG report stated and added that the equipment and furniture were not procured and the rooms were lying unutilised.
To this, the joint mission director of the National Health Mission said the hospital was not functional due to lack of manpower.
The CAG said the reply was not tenable as the requirement should have been considered from the time when building was sanctioned.
In reply, the health secretary stated that there was only one Ayush physician and a helper was assigned under the Ayush programme under NHM but there was no sanctioned post approved by the State government.