SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Monday said the government has accorded priority to the health sector and would ensure effective delivery of health care services to the people.
He was addressing a gathering during his visit to Nongpoh Civil Hospital prior to the review meeting with officials of the Health Department in presence of Health Minister A L Hek.
“The government has launched a programme to provide free medicines to patients in different government hospitals and health care centres,” he said adding the budget of the Health Department has been increased for the purpose. He asked officials and hospital administration to ensure effective delivery of the services to benefit the people.
He also informed he would visit different health care centres along with officials on a regular basis to assess the ground scenario and come up with remedial measures to improve health care delivery system in the state.
He also said that measures would be taken by the government to increase manpower and develop infrastructure in health care institutes to facilitate effective and better services.
While taking stock of the Nongpoh Civil Hospital, the chief minister lamented the lack of adequate space to accommodate patients.
In the review meeting, the chief minister discussed with the officials of the Health Department to find out measures to take care of the increasing number of patients in the district hospital.
Highlighting on the flagship programme – Megha Health Insurance Scheme (MHIS) — the chief minister instructed the department for its effective implementation and ensure that all citizens eligible to be covered under the scheme were registered in a phased manner.
The chief minister also said that the government will adopt an ‘online’ system for indenting the medicines to improve efficiency in the supply of medicine to the different districts, PHCs, CHCs and sub-centres. The system slated to be implemented in about three months’ time will allow for data analytics and monitoring of usage trends. Storage space for medicines will be created in all the districts to ensure adequate stocks of medicines, he added.
Trauma Centre to be made functional
He also informed that the Trauma Centre in Nongpoh Civil Hospital, which has been non-functional for the past decade, will be made functional within the next 45 days with the necessary manpower and fund support.
The review meeting was attended by all the MLAs of Ri-Bhoi district, Deputy Commissioner and officials from the Health Department.
