TURA: After more than a decade of gruelling wait, Garo Hills has finally gotten its first ever Computerized Tomography (CT) scan machine installed in the Tura Civil Hospital along with three other specialized medical equipment meant for eye and bone surgery and blood tests.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, on Tuesday afternoon, inaugurated the CT Scan, a new eye (Ophthalmology) operation theatre and ward complex, an upgraded bone (Orthopaedic) operation theatre and a upgraded clinical laboratory at the hospital, the first and only one in the Garo Hills region.
The 16 slice CT scan machine, at a cost of 3 crore 25 lakh rupees, will be a major boost for medical treatment in the region as it will help doctors to see inside of a patient without the need for any cutting.
Hundreds of patients who otherwise had to travel all the way to Goalpara or Guwahati for a CT scan can now have the opportunity to avail the same benefits in Tura itself.
A sum of Rs. 4 crore 95 lakh was released for upgradation of the Clinical Laboratory in the hospital while the Blindness Control Society sanctioned Rs 75 lakhs for a dedicated operation theatre and eye ward at the hospital.
Speaking at the inaugural programme in the presence of a host of senior government officials, doctors, nurses and Dalu MLA Brening A Sangma, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, while expressing his happiness, said that the people of Garo Hills will feel the change in medical care in the coming days, weeks and months.
“Health services has been of great concern for us, my government and according to me it is one of the most important services that any government should be able to provide,” said the chief minister while highlighting the importance of the social sector of which health plays a crucial role.
He said that health services shouldn’t only be affordability but also accessibility.
“People of Tura and Garo Hills know the difficulty faced by patients who have to travel so far outside the state just to get a CT scan or other tests. It is not just sad but it is also unfair,” said Conrad Sangma as he expressed optimism that this will be a new beginning.
He also informed the gathering that his government is currently in the advanced stage of installing a dialysis machine in Tura which will benefit many patients who are not in a position to travel all the way to Guwahati for treatment.
The chief minister also informed that his government has, this year, taken the Meghalaya Health Insurance Scheme to a new level by raising the amount from Rs. 2.8 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per family.
“There will be no registration required and almost eight lakh families in the state, who are not government servants, will be covered through this scheme. Earlier only about 4 lakh families were getting covered under the scheme and we felt this was not fair and so decided to take it to the next level,” said the chief minister.
He also revealed that the state government will have to bear approximately Rs 100 Crores for the new scheme. “The government of India is also funding but the initial amount of a hundred crores will have to be borne by the state government and we are going ahead with it to ensure universal health care to all families,” said Conrad Sangma.
He also informed that a programme to set up between 30-35 Health and Wellness Centres is underway which will focus on primary health care in the sub-centres.
“The sub-centres are always the first referral centres but unfortunately the kind of service is not up to the mark. So we are tweaking it a bit by improving and ensuring some basic infrastructure and training is imparted. This can make a massive difference in primary health care,” said Chief Minister Conrad Sangma while also informing that three proposals in the medical sector, one each for Tura, Shillong and Jowai, are being put up with the Tribal Affairs Ministry for further upgradation of the civil hospitals.
The chief minister also announced that the state cabinet has cleared the Free Drug Policy in the state which will ensure that substantial number of life-saving medicines are provided free of cost to patients in government hospitals.
A host of officials also spoke on the inauguration including Additional Director of Health Services (MI) Dr A War, deputy commissioner of West Garo Hills Ram Singh, superintendent of Tura Civil Hospital Dr Minakshi A Sangma, Dr Denisha Momin, Rev. Greaterburn Marak who dedicated a prayer.