SHILLONG, June 22: Congress MLA, Ampareen Lyngdoh on Tuesday called for universal vaccination, pointing out that Health Minister AL Hek himself had stated that some 5,000 children have been infected by Covid in the state so far.
Stating that barring a few pediatric ventilated beds in NEIGRIHMS, there is no pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in any government hospital in the state, Lyngdoh asked, “Why are we facing this situation even after 50 years (of statehood)? Is it because children have no voice or they do not protest on the roads? I was appalled to get this piece of information.”
She continued: “What will the government do now? Has it sent any proposal to the Government of India? Why is it that we do not have proper ICU facilities for children? This is a big lapse and we need to figure it out,” Lyngdoh said.
She said the Director of Health Services and the state government should be asked to give the numbers of pediatricians and their places of posting. She wondered if the government was wasting valuable training and expertise of the pediatricians by posting them as District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO).
“What will a pediatrician do in a remote part of the state when his services are required in places where there are government facilities for pediatric care?” Lyngdoh asked.
She further asked if the government is prepared to tackle a possible third wave of the pandemic if it targets children who are outside the purview of vaccination.
She insisted that the government should immediately bring all qualified pediatricians to state capital where the infected children are likely to be brought.
“If a pediatrician is posted in a faraway place, he will not have the facilities to deal with the cases. He will have to refer the patients to places where there is pediatric care. How many pediatricians are there in Ganesh Das MCH Hospital? We need to ask these questions,” the Congress MLA said.
She was critical of the government that contractual doctors are being sent to NEIGRIHMS for short-term training.
“I am happy that the training in NEIGRIHMS has begun but what will these doctors do after training? They are temporary doctors, employed just for Covid? Why are we investing in the wrong sector?” Lyngdoh asked.
She said as per her understanding, there are only two to three government pediatric surgeons in the state but they are not available at pediatric facilities as they have been posted as DMHO in some districts.
